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TERENCE    V.   POWDERLY, 

SCRANTON.   PA. 
GENERAL    MASTER    WORKMAN    KNIGHTS    OF    LABOR. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/laborcapitalcontOOalle 


<N§  PREFACE.  §|3-f> 


A  chain  is  no  stronger  than  its  weakest  link  ;  the 
real  happiness  of  a  republic  is  no  more  than  the  hap- 
piness of  its  most  helpless  and  hopeless  classes.  As 
a  nation  then,  there  is  no  higher  duty  ahead  of  us  than 
to  lighten  the  load  of  anxiety  and  trouble  which,  in 
this  smiling  land  of  peace  and  plenty,  weighs  with 
such  an  oppressive  force  upon  a  large  portion  of  our 
population.  Only  enthusiasts  can  imagine  that  any 
social  system  will  bring  unmixed  happiness  to  those 
who  inhabit  the  country  in  which  it  holds  sway.  Not 
until  sin  and  selfishness  are  banished  could  such  a 
condition  be  even  approximately  true  ;  but  still,  a  vast 
amount  of  suffering  can  be  alleviated,  much  of  wrong 
can  be  righted,  by  suitable  changes  in  our  social  system. 

The  author  has  spent  many  years  in  studying  the 
development  of  civilization  in  general.  In  the  dis- 
charge of  his  duties  in  this  connection  he  was  com- 
pelled to  make  extensive  research  in  the  primitive 
history  of  mankind,  and  to  study  the  gradual  unfold- 
ing of  social  institutions.  He  believes  that  his  exper- 
ience in  that  field  of  research  is  confirmed  by  all  who 
have   made   similar   study  and   research.      Mankind 

3 


4  PREFACE. 

generally  has  advanced,  with  many  a  halt,  on  substan- 
tially parallel  lines  from  plane  to  plane  of  culture. 
With  almost  the  beautiful  regularity  of  an  expanding 
flower  have  the  several  departments  of  culture  devel- 
oped, but  it  has  extended  over  a  flight  of  many  centu- 
ries. Increased  knowledge  gave  birth  to  new  desires 
which  were  satisfied  by  new  social  developments.  And 
so  it  will  ever  be,  at  least  as  long  as  humanity  remains 
as  it  is  to-day  Only  when  there  is  nothing  more  for 
man  to  learn  will  progress  cease. 

It  follows  from  the  foregoing  that  it  is  only  a  form 
of  self-conceit  that  bids  us  believe  that  our  present 
social  institutions  are  the  final  product  of  development. 
All  we  can  say  is  that  when  they  came  into  existence 
they  were  an  advance  on  what  went  before,  they  will 
in  turn  pass  away  when  they  fail  to  satisfy  the  wants 
of  advancing  civilization.  There  are  not  a  few  who 
think  we  are  even  now  on  the  threshold  of  sweeping 
changes.  They  think  that  our  laws  in  reference  to 
property  will  have  to  be  most  radically  changed,  and 
many  think  the  whole  function  of  the  state  will  be 
changed.  Whether  right  or  wrong  there  is  certainly 
a  vast  amount  of  speculation  on  these  topics.  They 
are  discussed  in  the  press  and  on  the  platform. 

We  desire  to  set  forth  briefly,  yet  with  clearness, 
the  story  of  man's  industrial  development.  If  we  can 
only  form  a  clear  mental  picture  of  various  phases  of 
industrial  life  in  the  past,  to  see  how  easily  and  natur- 
ally one  stage  of  growth  gradually  supervened  on  the 


PREFACE.  5 

life  of  the  past,  we  can  with  confidence  await  the  results 
of  the  future,  however  dark  and  lowering  now  the 
clouds  in  our  industrial  firmament  they  will  be  dissi- 
pated by  the  light  of  increasing  knowledge  making  us 
acquainted  with  new  social  expedients.  Changes  of 
this  nature,  however,  are  but  slow  and  gradual. 

In  Part  I.  we  have  gone  somewhat  carefully  into 
the  history  of  man's  industrial  development.  It  is 
quite  necessary  to  understand  what  has  gone  before 
if  we  would  understand  the  present.  Only  as  we  see 
how  naturally  tribal  society  gave  place  to  political  so- 
ciety, can  we  understand  how  the  village  community 
and  the  gild  gave  place  to  the  age  of  capital.  Only 
as  we  see  how  previous  systems  passed  out  of  exist- 
ence when  they  no  longer  met  the  wants  of  the  times 
can  we  realize  that  our  present  industrial  system  is 
doomed  unless  it  continues  to  satisfy  the  claims  of  ad- 
vancing culture. 

Having  considered  the  history,  tendency  and 
present  results  of  our  industrial  life,  we  turn  to  con- 
sider some  of  the  steps  taken  by  labor  to  counteract 
the  increasing  power  of  capital.  In  this  part  it  requires 
an  effort  to  keep  from  plunging  into  the  consideration 
of  mere  theoretical  questions.  But  as  our  work  is 
simply  an  historical  survey  of  Labor  and  Capital  we 
are  only  to  consider  what  has  been  done.  The  work 
thus  far  accomplished  from  the  standpoint  of  labor  has 
been  simply  preparatory.  Labor  is  now  organizing, 
disciplining  and  educating  its  recruits,  picketing  the 


D  PREFACE. 

advanced  position,  throwing  out  its  skirmish  lines. 
The  real  conflict  is  yet  in  the  future. 

We  have  tried  to  be  especially  full  and  accurate 
in  describing  the  great  farmer  movement  of  the  day. 
This  movement  is  of  great  importance.  Fortunately 
we  have  been  able  to  secure  the  aid  of  prominent 
officials  in  each  of  the  more  prominent  organizations. 
They  have  kindly  prepared  articles  giving  our  readers 
exact  information  as  to  the  history,  plan  of  organization, 
methods  of  work,  objects  sought  to  be  secured  and 
present  results  of  their  respective  organizations.  Our 
especial  thanks  are  due  to  each  and  every  one  of  the 
gentlemen  who  so  kindly  responded  to  our  request  for 
information.  We  also  wish  to  return  thanks  to  Mr. 
A.  W.  Whelpley,  Librarian  of  the  Cincinnati  Public 
Library,  for  granting  especial  facilities  for  investigating 
the  historical  and  economical  side  of  the  question. 


Cincinnati,  May  i,  1891. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


F>ART    I. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The  present  Century — The  present  system  threatened — The 
nature  of  man — The  development  of  man — The  rewards  of  research — 
Dangers  ahead — The  state  organism — Remedies  proposed — Our  special 
advantages — Such  advantages  rapidly  passing  away— The  inevitable 
end — The  present  problem  different  from  preceding  problems — 
Inequality  in  advance  now  making — Degradation  of  poverty — Hope- 
lessness of  labor — Reward  of  Agricultural  labor — Hope  for  the 
future Page  17 

CHAPTER  II. 

PRIMITIVE   UFE. 

Tendency  of  thought — Social  institutions  a  growth — Probable 
order  of  development — Means  of  obtaining  information  as  ,to  past 
times — Late  conclusions  as  to  primitive  times — How  to  proceed — The 
communal  band — Primitive  rights — Illustrations  from  Australia — Tri- 
bal society — Outlines  of  a  tribe — Tribe  ruled  by  custom — Internal 
government  of  a  tribe — Ideas  of  property — Development  of  a  tribal 
society — The  Aryans — The  Teutonic  Aryans — The  primitive  Germans 
— Rise  of  agriculture — Territorial  divisions  of  the  German  tribes — The 
common  ownership  of  land — Development  in  England — Roman  period 
— The  Saxon  conquest — How  the  Saxons  settled  in  England — The 
English  village  described — How  the  common  land  was  divided — How 
cultivated — Each  village  an  isolated  one — Slow  changes  in  the  village 
community — Growth  of  the  kingly  power — General  conclusions... Page  38 

CHAPTER  II 

VII^ANAGE. 

Introduction  of  Feudalism — The  Doomsday  Survey — The  con- 
dition of  a  Villan — His  duties — His  relations  to  the  Lord — The  Cotters 
— Slaves — Socmen — Free  tenants — Officials  of  a  Manor — Population  of 
England  in  the  nth  Century — Commutation  of  Villan  obligations — A 
new  Legal  Theory — Outbreak  of  the  plague — Scarcity  of  laborers — 
Statute  of  Laborers — Combination — Tyler's  Insurrection — Condition 
of  England  in  the  15th  Century — The  Golden  Age  of  Laborers — 
Inclosures — Sheep  Husbandry — Bacon's  Description  of  the  Evil — 
Condition  of  England  in  the  16th  Century — Decay  of  the  Yeomanry — 
Conclusion Page  94 

(7) 


8  TABLE  OF   CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS. 
Increasing  Importance  of  Trade — Towns  in  Ancient  Greece — In 
Early  Britain — How  Towns  were  formed — From  the  Village  Com- 
munity— Around  Monasteries — From  Danish  Times — The  Government 
of  Towns — Rise  of  the  Gild-Merchant — Powers  of  the  Gild — How  the 
towns  gained  a  local  government — The  Gild  and  the  Town  Authorities 
— Town  Life  in  the  12th  Century — Foreign  Trade — Foreign  Gilds — 
The  Medieval  Fairs— The  Stourbridge  Fair— Rise  of  Craft-Gilds— 
Development  of  the  Gilds — The  Decay  of  the  Gilds — Conclu- 
sion  Page  121 

CHAPTER  V. 
CAPITALIST  PRODUCTION. 
Progress  of  the  15th  Century — A  New  Industrial  Age — The  New 
Spirit  of  Nationality — Social  Changes — The  Age  of  Capital — Definition 
of  Capital — The  New  Power  of  Capital — Primitive  Equality  as  regards 
Capital — Capital  the  Master — Economic  Goods — Definition  of  Value — 
Use-Value — Exchange  Value — On  what  Exchange  Value  Depends — 
Depends  on  Labor — Surplus  Value  Division  of  Surplus  Value  between 
Capital  and  Labor — Labor  a  Commodity — The  Exchange  Value  of 
Labor — Conclusion Page  146 

CHAPTER  VI. 
AGRICULTURE. 

Present  Condition  of  the  United  States — The  Importance  of 
Agriculture — The  Welfare  of  the  Farmers — What  is  Property — 
Increased  Productiveness  of  Land — The  Nature  of  the  Farmers'  Work 
— The  Disadvantages  of  the  Farmers'  Work — The  Exchange  Value  of 
his  Products — His  Work  Compared  with  that  of  Manual  Labor — Table 
of  Results — Wages  or  Salary — Land  and  Population — Increase  in  Size 
of  Farms — The  Bonanza  Farms — Small  Farms  cannot  compete  with 
large  ones — Farmers'  Lot  not  improved  by  Improved  Machinery — The 
Standard  of  Comfort — Coming  Changes  in  the  Industrial  System — 
Conclusion Page  176 

CHAPTER  VII. 
TENDENCY  OF  CAPITAL. 
Slow  Growth  of  Social  Institutions — Advantages  of  a  Settled  Life 
— Introduction  of  our  Present  System — In  what  Respect  an  Advance 
on  the  Preceding — The  Evils  of  the  Same — The  Principles  on  which 
Capital  must  depend  to  make  Profit — Necessity  of  getting  Cheap  Labor 
— Ricardo's  Law  Again — Wages  affected  by  the  Necessities  of  the 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS.  9 

Laborers — Labor  a  Perishable  Commodity — Capitalist  Production  one- 
sided— The  Situation  Summed  Up — Capitalist  Production  must  be 
Judged  by  its  Fruits — The  Story  of  Spring  Valley — Booming  the 
Town — Dooming  the  Town — The  Lock-out — The  Results — Sufferings 
inflicted— The  Warning  to  be  drawn — Conclusion Page  207 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

INTENSITY   OF   I,ABOR. 

The  Second  Principle  on  which  Capital  Depends — The  Length 
of  the  Working  Day — Freedom  of  Labor — Capital  Desires  to  make  the 
Working  Day  Long — History  of  the  Subject— Extracts  from  Karl 
Marx — Legislation  in  the  United  States  on  this  Subject — Piecework — 
Evils  of  this  System — The  Sweating  System — How  the  Poorer  Classes 
are  compelled  to  Live — Some  of  the  Tenement  Houses  of  New  York — 
Workings  of  the  Systemin  our  Large  Cities — The  Moral  to  bedrawn — 
Conclusion Page  234 

CHAPTER  IX. 

AGE   OF   MACHINERY. 

Introduction — Genesis  of  a  machine — Definition  of  a  machine — 
Advantages  of  machines — Present  aspects  of  the  case — Capital  ren- 
dered more  productive  by  machines — Exchange  value  affected  by 
machinery — Prof.  Rogers'  opinion — Progress  of  the  last  century — The 
tendency  of  the  age — Disadvantages  of  machinery — The  displacement 
of  labor  by  machines — Machines  lower  the  standard  of  labor — Child 
labor — The  value  of  labor — Conclusion Page  259 

CHAPTER  X. 

COMPETITION  AND    COMBINATION. 

Where  we  stand — The  two  stages  of  the  present  system — Age  of 
competition — History  of  this  stage — The  doctrine  of  "  Laissez-faire  " — 
The  defects  of  this  doctrine — Modern  Legislation  and  this  doctrine — 
Freedom  of  competition — Individual  self-love — Benefits  of  competi- 
tion— Incentive  to  exertions — The  abuse  of  competition— Competition 
tends  to  lower  the  grade  of  work — Individuals  powerless  to  effect  a 
change — Capital  benefited  by  competition — The  age  of  combination — 
Growth  of  large  factories — A  struggle  for  existence — The  "  trust " — 
Growth  of  trusts — Benefits  of  the  plan — Effects  of  the  new  system — 
The  trust  the  logical  outcome  of  competition —Conclusion Page  289 

CHAPTER  XL 

RESULTS. 

Test  of  preceding  statements — The  wealth  of  Great  Britain — 
Table — Darkest  England — Contrast  with  richest  England — The  work- 
ing of  this  system  in  the  United  States — Difference  in  our  condition — 
Examples  of  great  wealth — Table  of  results — Conclusion  to  be  drawn 
— Congestion  of  wealth  increasing — Great  fortunes  a  menace  to  our 


IO  TABLE  OF   CONTENTS. 

national  prosperity — The  general  tendency  of  our  present  industrial 
system — Parallel  between  our  present  development  and  Villanage — 
Quotations  from  Danisthorpe — Words  of  warning — Hope  for  the 
future — Who  are  interested  in  this  matter — The  moral  side  of  the 
question  Page  318 


PART    II 

CHAPTER  XII. 

LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS. 

Changes  in  Public  Opinion — Civilization  can  not  be  Stationary — 
Trade  Unions — Results  in  Great  Britain — Slow  Progress  at  first — 
Combinatiou  Laws — Early  Difficulties — The  Dorchester  Case — What 
Trade  Unions  Are — Unions  of  Skilled  Labor — Success  of  the  Move- 
ment— Results  of  the  Movement — Confederation  of  Trades — Trade 
Unions  in  this  Country— The  Ten  Hours  Agitation — History  of  the 
Movement  in  this  Country — Legal  Difficulties  in  this  Country—Civil 
War  in  this  Country — Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers — History 
of  this  Organization — Confederation  of  Labor  Unions  in  this  Country 
— The  Knights  of  Labor — History  of  the  Movement — Aims  of  Labor 
Movement — Conclusion Page  349 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   FARMERS'   MOVEMENT. 

The  Importance  of  the  Movement — The  Ricardian  Law  and 
Agriculture — The  Necessity  of  Combination— The  General  Nature  of 
the    Various    Farmers'    Organizations — Plan    of  Work — Conclusion. 

Page  383 
CHAPTER  XIV. 
the  national  farmers'  alliance. 
By  August  Post,  National  Secretary. 
What  the  Alliance  is— The  Objects  of  the  Alliance— Results- 
Methods — Principle  of  Non-Partisanship — Declaration  of  Purposes 

Officers— Aims — Resolutions — Different  Alliances — Preamble  of  the 
Iowa  State  Alliance — Objects  of  the  same — Who  may  Join — Nature  of 
all  Alliance  Bodies — How  to  Organize — The  Peculiar  Nature  of  the 

Farmers'  Calling^-The  Farmers'  Needs— Present  Results Page  391 

CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  FARMERS'  MUTUAL  BENEFIT  ASSOCIATION. 

By  John  B.  Stelle,  Secretary  General  Assembly. 

History  of  the  Movement — Objects  of  the  Association — Decla- 
ration of  Purposes — Necessity  of  Organization — Preamble — Motto — 
General  Assembly — State  Assembly— County  Assembly— The  Subordi- 
nate Lodges — Requisite  of  Membership— Who  can  form  a  Lodge — 
Officers  and  their  Duties — Present  Condition  of  Agricultural  Interests 
— The  Memorial  to  Congress— Conclusion Page  409 


table:  of  contents.  n 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

the  grange. 
Reviewed  by  John  Trimble,  Secretary  National  Grange. 
The  Oldest  Farmer  Organization — What  Led  to  its  Formation — 
Its  Triumph — Declaration  of  Purposes — General  Objects — Specific 
Objects— Business  Relations — Education — Grange  Non-Partisan — Out- 
side Co-operation — Preamble — Why  the  Grange  does  not  Unite  with 
other  Agricultural  Organizations — Wherein  it  Agrees  with  other  Organ- 
izations— In  What  it  Dissents — Conclusion Page  426 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
objects  of  the  grange. 
By  Mortimer  Whitehead,  Lecturer  National  Grange. 
The  Grange  Tested  by  Experience — The  Broad  Character  of  the 
Grange  Organization — The  Grange  Means  Education — Educates  the 
Farmer    in    Business — In    Co-operation — Shaping    Public    Opinion — 
Its  Teachings  Tend  to   Elevate — Quotations    Showing    its    Tenden- 
cies  ,Page445 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

the  farmers'  eeague. 

By  Herbert  Myrick,  Secretary  National  League. 

What  the  League  is — It  is  a  Political    Party — Its  Relations  to 

other  Bodies — Plan  of  Organization — Growth  of  the  League — Work  of 

the  Local  League — Objects  of    the   League — How  They  Prepare   to 

Work — Conclusion Page  456 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

PATRONS   OF    INDUSTRY. 

By  W.  H.  Smith,  Supreme  Secretary. 
Not  Confined  to  Agriculturists — Preamble — The  Objects — Growth 
of  the  Order— The  Working  Machinery— Co-operative  Features— Sys- 
tem of  Arbitration— The  Patent  Laws— Scheme  for  Saving  Money— 
Their  Relations  to  other  Organizations Page  469 

CHAPTER   XX. 
achievements  of  the  grange  in  the  south. 
By  Coe.  Hiram  Hawkins,  Master  of  the  Alabama  State  Grange. 
Introduction— The  Great  Debt  the  South  Owes   the   Grange- 
Political  Condition  of  the  South  at  the  Close  of  the  War— Carpet-Bag 
Rule  Overthrown  by  the  Grange— Specimen   Laws— The   Educative 


12  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

Influence  of  the  Grange — Government  of  the  Best  Classes  Rendered 
Possible  by  the  Grange — The  Victory — Grange  Legislation — Improved 
Financial  Condition  Due  to  the  Grange — Breaking  up  Monopolies — 
Conclusion Page  477 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  NATIONAL  FARMERS'   ALLIANCE  AND   INDUSTRIAL  UNION. 

Reviewed  by  Col.  L.  L.  Polk,  President  of  the  National 
Alliance. 
Distinction  Between  the  Two  Alliances — Plan  of  Organization— 
The  Constituents  of  the  Alliance — The  Movement  in  Texas — The  Union 
of  Louisiana — The  Wheel  in  Arkansas — The  Union  at  St.  Louis — Who 
is  Permitted  to  Enter — Objects — Sketch  of  its  Constitution..-The  Sub- 
Treasury  Plan — Historical  Precedents — Present  Condition  of  the 
Movement....... ,. — Page  494 


fist  of  Jlliistpatiorjs. 


PAGE. 

/.     E.  A.  Allen.     Authors  Portrait.       (Frontispiece.) 


2.  The  Oppression  of  Labor  in  Olden  Times, 

3.  The  Farmers'  Alliance  Exchange,  Dallas,  Texas, 

4.  A  Modern  City — Paris, 

5.  Triumph  of  Capita/,     .... 

6.  Hon.  Jere  Simpson,       .... 

The  "Alliance"  Congressman  from  Kansas. 

7»  Laying  the  Atlantic  Cable, 

8.  The  Old  Way,  .... 

9.  The  Beginning  of  the  Age  of  Machinery, 
10,  Inventor  of  the  Bessemer  Process,  . 
//.  Baron  Rothschild,         •        •         •        • 


39 

95 

122 

147 

177 

206 
235 
258 
288 
3/9 


d3> 


14  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

12.  Terence  V.  Powderly,  ....       848 

General  Master  Workman,  Knights  of  Labor. 

13.  August  Post, 890 

Secretary  National  Farmers'  Alliance. 

14.  John  P.  Stelle, 408 

Secretary  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association. 

15.  John  Trimble, 427 

Secretary  National  Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry. 

16.  Mortimer  Whitehead,    .         .         .         .         .444 

Lecturer  National  Grange,  Patrons  of  Husbandry. 

17.  Herbert  Myrick, 457 

Secretary  The  Farmers'  League. 

!8.     Hiram  Hawkins,  .         .         .         „         „       476 

Master  Alabama  State  Grange. 

19.     L  L  Polk .      495 

President  Farmers'  National  Alliance. 


PART   I. 


Review  of  the  Industrial  Develop- 
ment of  Man  from  Extremely 
Early  Times  to  the 
Present  Day. 


SHOWING 


HOW   INDUSTRIAL    SYSTEMS    SLOWLY 

ARISE,  ENTER   ON   AN   ERA   OF 

PROSPERITY,  AND  THEN 

PASS   AWAY, 


WITH 


A  Special  Consideration  of  the  Ten- 
dency of  the  Present 
System. 


ds) 


LABOR  AND  CAPITAL. 

While  Labor  serves  a  master's  board, 
And  bows  the  knee  in  mad  despair 
To  gather  crumbs  mid  want  and  care; — 

And  Capital  piles  up  its  hoard. 

While  Faltering  Age  slaves  to  be  fed; 

While  woman  stitches  life  away; 

While  babes  are  worked  for  sordid  pay;— 
And  Capital  withholds  their  bread: 

While  pearly  drops,  'neath  lash  and  foil, 
Conceal  the  wounds  that  men  endure; 
While  penury  finds  not  a  cure; — 

Like  gall  is  sweat  of  honest  toil. 

When  each  man  tills  his  plot  of  soil, 
When  Labor  wins  reward  that's  fair, — 
When   Capital  gives  each  his  share, — 

Sweet  then  are  beads  of  honest  toil. 

OHIO  UNIVERSITY,  WllyUS       BOUGHTON. 

Athens,  May  2,  1891. 


(16) 


COPTER  1. 


Introduction. — The  present  Century — The  present  system 
threatened — The  nature  of  man — The  development  of  man — The 
rewards  of  research — Dangers  ahead — The  state  organism — Reme- 
dies proposed — Our  special  advantages — Such  advantages  rapidly 
passing  away — The  inevitable  end — The  present  problem  different 
from  preceding  problems — Inequality  in  advance  now  making — ■ 
Degradation  of  poverty — Hopelessness  of  labor — Reward  of  Agri' 
A     cultural  labor — hope  for  the  future. 


NO  century  of  history  has  mankind 
made  more  rapid  progress  than  in 
the  one  just  closing.  Every  part  of 
the  world  is  now  thrown  open  to  com- 
merce ;  the  productions  of  one  coun- 
try readily  find  their  way  into  other  lands  by 
the  system  of  exchange,  which  has  been  won- 
derfully improved  and  simplified.  It  is  a  common- 
place remark  that  steam  has  annihilated  space,  the 
new  world  itself  being  now  but  a  few  days  distant 
from  the  old.  Progress  in  this  direction  still  contin- 
ues. The  interior  of  Asia  is  being  surveyed  for  com- 
mercial purposes,  while  the  jungles  of  Africa  will  soon 
be  utilized  for  their  immense  stores  of  valuable  tim- 
ber.    When   we   consider  the   field  of  practical   and 

theoretical  science,  it  is  really  a  pleasure  to  review 
2  17 


18  LNTBODUCTION. 

recent  conquests.  Over  the  continents,  under  the 
ocean,  that  subtle,  unknown  force  we  call  electricity 
carries  our  message,  or  enables  us  to  talk  familiarly 
with  our  friends  many  miles  away.  This  is  but  one 
instance.  Numerous  illustrations,  equally  as  striking, 
must  occur  to  all.  It  is  simply  a  waste  of  time  and 
space  to  mention  them. 

In  all  healthy  states  of  society,  wherever  civiliza- 
tion is  free  of  develop,  advance  in  one  direction  is  the 
forerunner  of  corresponding  change  in  other  direc- 
tions. Now  there  are  many  grounds  for  thinking  that 
development  has  been,  on  the  whole,  one-sided  during 
the  nineteenth  century.  Pure  and  applied  sciences 
have  indeed  been  developed  to  a  wonderful  extent; 
commerce  has  been  correspondingly  active,  and,  in 
general,  advance  has  been  made  in  all  the  arts  which 
minister  to  man's  physical  wants.  But  the  reverse  of 
this  picture  is  that  man's  attention  has  been  wholly 
taken  up  with  the  physical  side  of  his  life.  His  social 
life — that  is  to  say,  the  social  institutions  under  which 
he  lives,  ideas  of  government,  the  distribution  of  the 
wealth  created  by  labor,  not  to  speak  of  religious  cult- 
ure— is  still  dominated  by  the  learning  of  the  past. 
As  an  experienced  navigator,  however,  can  detect  the 
signs  of  land  long  before  it  is  in  sight,  so  can  those 
who  watch  the  present  course  of  events,  and  compare 
them  with  history,  detect  the  signs  of  approaching 
change  which  threaten  to  not  only  revolutionize  every 
department  of  science,  but  seem  about  to  invade  the 


INTKODUCTIOX.  19 

field  of  religion,  and  is  especially  portentous  with 
change  for  our  existing  social  institutions. 

As  all  know,  in  one  direction  at  least  the  political 
sky  is  rapidly  overcasting.  Our  whole  industrial  sys- 
tem is  threatened,  and  there  is  a  decided  tendency  to 
re-examine  the  theory  of  government,  of  private  prop- 
erty, especially  of  property  in  land,  and  the  distribu- 
tion of  wealth  created  from  year  to  year.  Such  a 
state  of  affairs  certainly  exists,  and  the  danger  ahead 
of  our  civilization  is  that  if  this  investigation  is  not 
undertaken  in  an  earnest,  candid  manner,  and  the 
truth  or  falsity  of  the  new  views  that  are  finding  ex- 
pression here  and  there  be  established,  the  impulsive 
mass  of  people  may  conclude  they  are  right  anyway, 
and  proceed  to  carry  them  out  by  main  force.  In 
such  a  movement  as  that  there  is  nothing  but  danger. 
No  matter  how  desirable  changes  may  be,  time  must 
be  given  them  in  which  to  take  effect.  Brute  force  is 
not  the  best  way  to  make  a  flower  unfold.  A  few 
moments'  reflection  will  convince  us  of  the  necessity 
of  making  haste  slowly  in  this  matter.  And  hence 
the  necessity  of  having  a  good  general  understanding 
of  the  whole  question.  We  cannot  do  better  than  to 
begin  with  general  principles,  try  and  outline  the  gen- 
eral subject,  so  as  to  obtain  a  clear  idea  of  the  whole. 

There  is  united  in  man  many  contradictory  ele- 
ments. Bound  to  the  earth  by  the  necessities  of  his  be- 
ing, he  has  aspirations,  hopes,  at  times  faith  even  strong, 
enough  to  give  him  the  assurance  of  a  higher  destiny. 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

Civilization  has  resulted  from  attempts  made  to  satisfy 
his  wants,  which  happily  increase  quite  as  fast  as  the 
means  of  satisfying  them  are  found.  This  is  one  great 
dividing  line  between  man  and  other  animals.  The 
horse  to-day  has  the  same  wants  as  the  first  horse 
that  grazed  on  the  primitive  meadows  of  the  prehis- 
toric world.  The  case  is  vastly  different  with  man. 
Conscious  of  his  superiority,  he  has  risen  in  the  scale 
in  proportion  as  he  has  triumphed  over  natural  diffi- 
culties and  advanced  in  the  domain  of  science. .  Prog- 
ress in  all  these  directions  is  but  slow.  The  first  steps 
are  but  few  and  feeble,  with  many  a  halt.  In  general 
his  first  advance  was  with  animals.  The  herdsman 
precedes  the  farmer.  Man  clothes  himself  with  the 
skins  of  various  animals,  later  weaving  their  fleeces 
into  garments.  He  uses  them  for  food,  and  compels 
them  to  labor  for  him.  But  agriculture  follows  on 
apace.  Nutritive  grasses  are  cultivated  which,  under 
his  fostering  care,  change  their  habits  of  growth,  and 
develop  into  the  various  cereals  upon  which  the  civil- 
ized world  so  largely  depends. 

Man  never  lived  isolated  and  alone.  Primitive 
man  united  in  groups,  from  which  slowly  formed 
gentes,  phratries  and  tribes.  This  advance  corre- 
sponded to  advance  in  other  directions,  and  thus  or- 
ganized society  arose.  Tribes  united  in  a  confederacy ; 
the  confederacy  in  turn  gave  way  to  the  modern  state. 
Apart  from  greater  security  of  life,  most  important 
consequences  follow  from  the  mere  union  of  man  with 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

man  in  society.  Mind  acts  on  mind;  one  spurs  on 
the  other.  He  yearns  to  know  the  very  secrets  of 
nature,  not  only  from  the  mere  love  of  knowing,  but 
he  turns  knowledge  so  obtained  to  advantage  in  a 
very  practical  way — makes  it  also  minister  to  his 
wants.  Thus  arts  and  sciences  arose.  Such  knowl- 
edge was  at  first  mere  childish,  even  foolish,  explana- 
tions of  the  simple,  every-day  occurrence  that  man 
sees  happening  around  him  ;  but  observation  is  added 
to  observation,  fact  wedded  to  fact,  and  so  in  time 
primitive  theories  grew  into  our  modern  ones. 

The  rewards  of  such  researches  are  many.  What 
branch  of  life  is  it  that  has  not  been  enriched  by 
scientific  research?  So  true  is  this  that  new  inven- 
tions have  served  as  dividing  lines  between  various 
ages  of  culture.  We  talk  of  the  age  of  bronze,  of 
iron,  of  steam,  and  we  are  even  now  talking  about 
the  fast  coming  age  of  electricity.  But  nature  guards 
her  secrets  well.  One  conquest  gained  simply  brings 
forward  other  problems.  Thus,  the  wiser  we  become, 
the  more  we  see  there  is  to  learn.  With  advancing 
knowledge  man  becomes  ambitious.  No  longer  con- 
fining his  attention  to  this  revolving  earth,  he  would 
explore  the  sidereal  universe,  weigh  the  fixed  stars  in 
his  balance,  analyze  the  nebulae  of  distant  space. 

It  is  but  natural  that  when  we  consider  the  mar 
velous  progress  man  has  made  in  the  past,  we  should 
give  free  reins  to  fancy  and  dream  of  future  con- 
quests.    Having  accomplished  so  much,  we  entertain 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

no  doubt  as  to  further  progress.  We  are  in  danger 
of  forgetting  that  the  way  has  been  long  and  dreary ; 
that  all  progress  has  been  the  result  of  labor,  and 
that  what  is  true  of  the  individual  is  true  of  mankind 
generally — life  is  a  warfare,  a  struggle,  that  we  rise 
only  by  meeting  with  and  overcoming  opposition.  If, 
then,  as  we  have  stated,  there  are  dangers  ahead  of 
our  present  civilization,  we  must  not  suppose  that 
they  will  settle  themselves.  They  must  be  confronted, 
the  remedies  considered ;  necessary  innovations  must 
be  made. 

The  mere  fact  that  there  are  dangers  ahead  is  by 
no  means  alarming.  The  individual  who  has  every 
want  satisfied  will  probably  not  amount  to  much.  The 
same  is  true  of  a  nation  or  of  society.  When  once  it 
reaches  a  state  where  no  change  is  desired  or  looked 
for,  then  it  becomes  stagnant.  Changelessness  is  an 
attribute  of  death,  not  of  life.  The  dangers  bravely 
met,  the  necessary  changes,  if  such  there  seem  to  be, 
once  made,  civilization  will  enter  on  a  higher  stage. 
Each  stage  of  culture  brings  with  it  dangers  peculiar 
to  itself,  even  as  it  has  its  own  wants  and  means  of 
satisfying  them.  When  ancient  Greece  changed  from 
tribal  society  to  political  society,  she  found  herself 
confronted  with  evils  before  unknown.  Some  centu- 
ries ago  the  principal  nations  of  Europe,  abandoning 
the  feudal  system  of  society,  passed  through  the  in- 
termediate stage  of  gild  system  and  entered  on  the 
stage  of  industrial  development,  which  it  still  pursues. 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

This  may  be  called,  for  lack  of  a  better  name,  the 
capitalistic  system,  and  has  been  distinguished  in  the 
past  by  fierce  competition.  As  might  have  been  fore- 
seen, along  with  whatever  of  excellence  there  is  in 
this  system,  it  is  accompanied  by  great  evils.  These 
evils  have  rather  increased  as  time  has  passed,  and 
there  are  many  who  think  a  change  must  come  soon. 
In  all  the  principal  nations  of  the  earth,  in  America  as 
well  as  Europe,  there  is  a  widespread  feeling  of  discon- 
tent. Broadly  speaking,  the  discontent  is  mostly  con- 
fined to  what  are  known  as  the  laboring  classes,  as 
opposed  to  professional  men  and  moneyed  classes 
generally.  This  statement  is  of  course  broad  and 
general.  It  is  extremely  difficult,  in  many  cases,  to 
trace  the  exact  line  of  separation,  but  within  the 
classes  as  here  pointed  out  the  discontent  is  general, 
widespread,  and  does  not  depend  on  local  causes. 
The  agriculturist,  the  factory  operative  or  the  simple 
laborer  are  in  this  respect  united.  It  is  not  a  question 
of  nationality,  since  the  American,  English,  French 
and  German  nations  are  equally  involved.  It  does  not 
depend  on  the  mere  form  of  government,  or  follow  as 
a  consequence  of  free  trade  or  protection,  since  nations 
the  most  diverse  in  these  matters  find  themselves  con- 
fronted with  the  same  problem  ;  their  citizens  are 
slowly  dividing  into  two  great  classes  ;  the  propertied 
class  on  the  one  side,  the  laboring  class  on  the  other, 
and  the  relations  between  them  tend  every  day  to  be 
come  more  and  more  strained. 


24  INTKODUCTION. 

All  such  influences  as  these  have  an  effect  far 
beyond  what  we  at  first  allow  them.  Of  late  years  we 
have  learned  that  the  state  is  an  organism.  As  such 
it  can  no  more  be  in  a  healthy  condition  when  there 
is  such  a  state  of  affairs  between  its  class  divisions, 
than  an  individual  can  be  said  to  be  healthy,  when  his 
digestive  system  is  out  of  order.  The  whole  body  in 
the  one  case,  no  less  than  the  whole  state  in  the  other, 
is  speedily  involved.  To  carry  out  the  comparison  we 
might  refer  to  the  fact,  that  without  well  defined  reason 
we  have  regularly  recurrent  seasons  of  "hard  times." 
The  whole  body  politic  is  thrown  into  alternate  fever 
and  chill.  Without  a  knowledge  of  the  whole  situa- 
tion, we  are  apt  to  apply  merely  local  remedies.  In 
our  own  country  we  see  various  bodies  of  laborers 
organizing  to  protect  themselves  from  the  tyranny  of 
capital  without  any  special  regard  paid  to  the  state  as 
a  whole,  or  any  organized  effort  to  remove  the  cause 
of  the  trouble  itself. 

However,  at  the  present  day,  other  ideas  are 
rapidly  coming  to  the  front.  We  now  see  vast  com- 
binations of  laborers  and  wage  workers  taking  place, 
who  propose  to  do  something  more  than  merely  com- 
bine for  protection.  Whether  right  or  wrong,  they 
are  under  the  firm  impression  that  many  of  the  evils 
under  which  they  labor  can  be  removed  by  legislation. 
In  our  own  country,  political  power  is  undoubtedly  in 
their  hands.  They  are  American  patriots  and  intelli- 
gent citizens,  who  feel  they  have  wrongs  to  be  righted. 


INTRODUCTION.  25 

The  only  thing  to  be  deprecated  is  ill-considered 
haste.     Let  us  first  understand  the  problem. 

The  remedies  proposed  are  offered  without  a 
careful  study  of  all  the  facts  bearing  on  the  question. 
Lacking  this  study,  they  are  apt  to  be  local  and  tem- 
porary remedies  only. 

"  Give  us  free  trade,"  exclaim  one  party,  "  and 
all  will  be  well."  It  never  seems  to  occur  to  them  that 
England,  the  home  of  free  trade,  is  also  the  land  where 
the  laboring  classes  generally  groan  under  many 
difficulties. 

"  Increase  the  tariff,  build  up  our  home  markets, 
and  protect  our  industries,"  is  the  remedy  proposed 
by  the  protectionists.  But  not  to  mention  our  own 
country,  there  is  Germany,  enjoying  all  the  advantages 
of  a  high  protective  tariff,  and  there  the  demands  of 
labor  have  been  very  aggressive,  caused  as  they  were 
by  the  intolerable  burdens  under  which  it  existed. 
"The  remedy  is  very  simple,"  explain  still  a  third 
party.  "  It  is  quite  evident  that  we  are  all  suffering 
from  a  lack  of  money,  therefore,  set  the  government 
printing  press  at  work  and  print  a  billion  or  so  of 
dollars."  Unfortunately  the  government  cannot  print 
houses,  ships,  corn  and  clothing  which  this  money  is 
supposed  to  buy,  they  are  not  rendered  more  common, 
and  so  the  fortunate  possessors  of  those  desirable 
articles,  would  in  all  probability  decline  to  exchange 
them  for  a  few  ornamental  pieces  of  paper.  This  last 
remark,  however,  must   not  be   taken   to  mean   that 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

government  can  do  nothing  in  the  matter  of  finances. 
Money,  in  our  present  industrial  system,  fills  in  com- 
merce an  office  quite  similar  to  the  blood  in  our  bodies. 
On  its  circulation  in  proper  quantity  and  quality  de- 
pends the  health  of  trade,  no  less  than  the  health  of 
the  body  depends  on  the  proper  circulation  and  gene- 
ral health  of  the  blood. 

Let  us  dismiss  the  proposed  remedies,  for  the 
time  being,  and  take  up  the  question  at  the  beginning. 
Let  us  listen  to  the  complaints  made,  learn  the  symp- 
toms of  the  case,*so  to  speak.  Then  take  an  historical 
view  of  the  case,  that  is  to  say,  inquire  into  our  pa- 
tient's (society)  past  life.  Whether  he  has  had  any 
trouble  of  this  kind  before,  what  was  done  in  those 
cases,  etc.  Then  we  might  hold  a  council,  that  is, 
examine  the  views  of  scholars  and  thinkers,  who  have 
expressed  themselves.  If  we  find  them  agreeing  as  to 
the  remedy  demanded,  it  is  a  strong  probability  that 
they  are  right  and  it  would  be  prudent  to  follow  their 
council.  If,  however,  they  are  very  far  from  agree- 
ment among  themselves,  then  there  is  nothing  for  it 
but  to  come  to  our  own  conclusions. 

Before  proceeding  further,  we  ought  to  speak  of 
the  especial  advantages  enjoyed  in  our  own  country. 
We  are  as  yet  a  young  nation  ;  our  population  has  by 
no  means  reached  the  limit  which  we  can  support  ;  land 
is  still  cheap ;  and  as  a  consequence  wages  ar  i  com- 
paratively much  higher  than  in  Europe.  Our  system  of 
public  education  enables  the  children  of  even  very  poor 


INTRODUCTION.  27 

people  to  secure  a  good  education.  The  general  tone 
of  public  life,  as  embodied  in  our  literature  has  nour- 
ished the  belief  that  poverty  is  no  disgrace,  however 
inconvenient  it  may  be.  Theoretically  and  to  a  large 
extent  practically,  we  are  all  equal  and  we  have  as  yet 
no  aristocracy  of  birth  ;  indeed  the  majority  of  our 
leading  men  have  arisen  from  the  ranks  of  the  people. 
As  a  result  we  instinctively  feel  that  an  individual  has 
himself  to  blame,  if  he  cannot  procure  at  least  the 
every-day  comforts  of  life.  All  this  and  much  more 
can  be  said  in  favor  of  our  own  country. 

It  is,  however,  well  known  that  this  happy  state 
of  affairs  is  passing  away.  Population  is  [rapidly  in- 
creasing, we  are  now  a  nation  of  nearly  sixty-five 
million  inhabitants.  The  public  land  is  virtually  ex- 
hausted. In  fact,  the  United  States  has  evidently 
reached  a  turning  point  in  its  history.  The  inevitable 
course  of  future  events  (i.  e.,  under  the  present  indus- 
trial system)  must  be  an  ever  nearing  approach  to  the 
state  of  affairs  existing  in  Europe.  It  is  useless  to 
think  that  our  form  of  government,  our  free  institutions 
will  make  the  result  different  in  our  case.  Increase 
of  population,  which  in  all  human  probability  will 
march  steadily  forward,  must  inevitably  make  compe- 
tition more  and  more  intense.  Be  not  deceived.  In_ 
creasing  population,  increasing  competition,  increasing 
power  of  capital,  will  steadily  tend  here  as  it  is  tending 
the  civilized  world  over  to  an  inevitable  end.  That  is 
to  say,  inevitable  if  we  let  things  take  their  natural 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

course.  But  far  reaching  modifications  may  be  intro- 
duced into  the  present  system  of  industry,  by  means 
of  which  these  evils  may  be  avoided,  and  in  this  direc- 
tion is  to  be  found  hopes  for  the  future. 

What  now  is  the  inevitable  end  to  which  our 
present  system  is  tending?  It  is  the  old,  old  story, 
"  him  that  hath,  to  him  shall  be  given,"  but  "him  that 
hath  not  from  him  shall  be  taken  away  even  that  he 
hath."  Society  is  being  transformed  into  two  great 
divisions.  The  moneyed  class  and  the  moneyless 
class.  Progress  is  accompanied  by  poverty.  For  one 
magnate,  riding  by  in  his  private  car,  a  hundred  tramps 
are  plodding  along  the  highway,  utterly  discouraged, 
brutalized  by  hunger  and  want,  they  are  ready  to  com- 
mit any  crime.  For  one  great  dinner  given  by  a  suc- 
cessful manufacturer,  tables  in  midwinter  banked  with 
choice  flowers,  costly  wines,  imported  fruits,  rare  viands 
from  distant  countries,  thousands  of  weary  laborers 
plod  homeward  in  the  sleet,  other  thousands  of  inno- 
cent children,  hungry  and  shivering,  are  crying  for 
food.  For  one  elegant  mansion,  whose  rooms  contain 
all  that  luxury  can  ask,  all  that  wealth  can  buy;  in- 
numerable tenement  compartments,  are  the  homes  of 
discouraged  fathers,  weary  mothers,  children  at  present 
prattling  innocents,  but  who  in  a  few  years  will  become 
a  part  of  the  great  army  of  workers,  though  some  of 
them,  a  sadly  large  part  of  them,  will  go  to  swell  the 
ranks  of  the  criminal  and  vicious  classes. 

It  is  not  enough  to  say  that  in  all  times  we  have 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

had  substantially  this  same  class  division ;  that  in  all 
ages  there  have  been  the  poor  and  the  rich.  It  is  not 
sufficient  to  dismiss  the  whole  subject  by  quoting  the 
old  saying,  "ye  have  the  poor  always  with  you," 
this  is  no  command  not  to  try  and  alleviate  their  lot. 
We  have  sickness  in  the  world  at  all  times,  but  this 
does  not  prevent  us  from  trying  to  ward  off  epidemics. 
But  on  the  other  hand,  one  who  thus  triflingly  disposes 
of  this  whole  subject  understands  neither  past  history 
nor  the  present  trend  of  events.  In  the  first  place, 
poverty  such  as  we  know  it  now,  is  a  comparatively 
recent  thing.  The  division  into  rich  and  poor  classes 
in  antiquity  was  something  quite  different  from  similar 
divisions  of  to-day.  The  poor  man  then  might  have 
been  the  slave  or  the  serf  of  another.  And  he  might 
have  had  many  disagreeable  duties  to  perform.  Still 
he  was  in  no  great  danger  of  suffering.  In  the  one 
case  his  master  had  to  provide  for  him,  in  the  other 
case,  he  had  a  claim  on  the  land  of  his  master,  and 
could  thus  support  himself. 

Neither  does  such  an  individual  understand  the 
present  trend  of  the  problem.  It  is  not  simply  that 
we  have  poverty  in  the  world,  it  is  not  that  we  have 
the  present  distinction  between  rich  and  poor,  but  it 
is  that  this  division  is  steadily  growing  wider  and 
sharper.  In  Europe  it  is  all  but  impossible  for  a  poor 
man  to  do  more  than  barely  make  enough  to  support 
himself  and  family,  while  such  a  thing  as  rising  in  the 
scale  of  life  is  out  of  the  question.     And  this  country 


30  INTRODUCTION. 

will  from  this  time  on,  as  we  have  already  pointed  out, 
steadily  approach  such  a  state  of  affairs.  It  is  all  very 
well  to  point  out  how  the  great  advance  in  the  arts  of 
living  have  redounded  to  the  benefit  of  the  poor  as  well 
as  the  rich.  It  is  quite  true  that  the  poor  man  now  is  in 
possession  of  many  comforts  that  the  rich  could  not 
have  procured  with  all  his  money,  a  century  or  so  ago. 

The  trouble  is  not  that  the  laboring  classes  are 
not  advancing  at  all,  but  that  the  other  classes  are  ad- 
vancing so  much  faster,  and  thus  the  gulf  is  steadily 
widening.  In  the  meanwhile  what  are  the  luxuries  of 
one  age  become  the  necessities  of  another,  Because 
people  once  lived  without  chimneys  in  their  houses,  it 
is  no  sign  of  extravagance  if  they  persist  in  having 
them  now.  Mankind  once  got  along  by  utilizing  shel- 
tered nooks  and  caves  for  a  place  of  habitation,  but  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  homeless  men,  women  and 
children  to  be  found  in  all  countries,  who  have  literally 
no  shelter  that  they  can  call  their  own,  and  put  up  with 
worse  make-shifts  than  primitive  man  did,  do  not  find 
their  lot  any  easier  to  bear  by  being  informed  how 
many  comforts  can  now  be  furnished  at  a  trifling  cost 
which  wealth  itself  could  not  procure  at  times  past. 

Now  every  one  who  cares  to  investigate  the  sub- 
ject knows  that  there- is  an  appalling  amount  of  abject 
misery  in  what  Gen.  Booth  calls  the  submerged  classes. 
He  estimates  that  about  one-tenth  of  the  population 
of  England  is  in  that  deplorable  state.  They  are  com- 
pletely sunk  in  the  slough  of  despondency.     They  are 


LNTK0DUCTI0N.  31 

destitute  of  everything  which  makes  life  enjoyable. 
In  all  our  great  cities  in  this  country,  no  less  than  in 
Europe,  a  similar  state  of  affairs  exist.  Of  course 
many  of  these  unfortunates,  perhaps  a  majority  of  them, 
have  only  themselves  to  blame  for  their  deplorable 
condition.  They  have  given  away  to  temptations, 
they  have  wasted  their  opportunities,  they  have  not 
heeded  friendly  warning  and  thus  have  suffered  ship- 
wreck. But  their  sufferings  are  none  the  less  on  that 
account.  But  other  thousands,  largely  composed  of 
women  and  children,  are  leading  these  miserable  lives 
through  no  fault  of  theirs. 

There  is  another  picture  which  must  be  drawn,  it 
is  indeed  not  painted  in  as  dark  colors,  but  it  furnishes 
an  extremely  sad  background  for  our  advanced  civili- 
zation. It  is  the  increasing  hopelessness  of  a  life  of 
labor.  Now  labor  in  itself  is  a  blessing  and  not  a 
curse.  It  is  not  that  men  and  women  have  to  work, 
and  work  hard  for  a  living  that  is  sad.  But  it  is  that 
labor  becomes  more  and  more,  as  time  passes  on,  the 
whole  of  life,  nstead  of  being  as  it  should  be,  the 
means  to  an  end.  What  Ricardo  calls  the  necessary 
law,  and  which  Lassalle  calls  the  iron  law  of  wages, 
must  continue  to  he  operative  under  our  present  sys- 
tem. Wages  tend  always  to  sink  to  a  level  which  will 
only  just  afford  a  living  to  the  laborer.  We  are  not 
now  concerned  with  a  discussion  of  this  law  itself,  we 
only  want  to  point  out  its  consequences. 

It  comes  simply  to  this.      Human  life,  the  most 


32  INTRODUCTION. 

precious  thing  on  earth,  becomes  one  dreary  round  o 
hopeless  work,  and,  strive  as  the  laborer  may,  he  can 
only  hope  to  make  his  living.  If  wages  rise  much 
above  that  point,  laborers  from  other  sources  flock  in 
to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  the  good  pay.  This  brings 
competition.  The  necessities  of  some  compel  them 
to  work  for  less  than  others,  and  wages  speedily  fall 
to  the  level  of  other  branches.  Now,  when  you  add 
to  this  fact  the  uncertainty  of  work,  and  of  life  itself, 
it  becomes  a  serious  question  whether  life  from  the 
laborer's  standpoint  is  worth  the  living.  He  may  have 
a  family  dependent  on  him.  He  loves  his  children 
quite  as  well  as  his  rich  employer  loves  his.  He  is 
perfectly  willing  to  work  long  hours  for  them,  even 
though  he  knows  his  utmost  endeavors  can  only  keep 
them  in  the  barest  comforts.  But  there  is  constantly 
before  him  a  nameless  dread.  Some  new  labor-saving 
invention  may  render  his  services  superfluous,  and  he 
finds  himself  discharged.  This  maybe  brought  about 
in  many  other  ways.  What  a  pitiful  prospect  ahead  of 
him !  Yet  how  often  is  this  the  experience  of  all 
workmen.  He  may  lose  his  life  by  disease  or  acci- 
dent, and  then,  Heaven  help  those  who  have  been  de- 
pendent on  him. 

Now,  every  one  knows  that  this  is  an  exceedingly- 
moderate  statement  of  the  case.  It  may  very  well  be 
that  wages  in  this  country  have,  as  a  whole,  been 
above  mere  living  wages,  and  yet  they  have  not,  as  a 
rule,  been  above  the  American  standard  of  comfort. 


INTRODUCTION.  33 

The  American  wages  have  simply  allowed  the  Amer- 
ican laborer  to  live  a  little  better  than  the  average 
European  laborer  lives.  But  how  can  we  look  for  this 
result  to  continue  ?  We  have  already  drawn  millions 
of  laborers  from  other  parts  of  the  world,  other  mill- 
ions of  laborers  will  come  in  the  future,  and  our  own 
population  is  bound  to  increase.  We  can  see  no  es- 
cape from  the  conclusion  that  wages  will  gravitate  to 
a  lower  level  as  time  passes  on.  And  in  the  mean- 
while, the  dread  uncertainty  always  overhanging  the 
laborer  must  become  more  intensified.  Every  year 
that  passes  it  becomes  harder  and  harder  for  a  man 
once  thrown  out  of  employment  to  secure  another  po- 
sition. Surely  this  is  a  sufficiently  sad  state  of  affairs. 
It  means  that  millions  in  one  of  the  most  highly  civil- 
ized countries  of  the  world,  in  spite  of  the  many  won- 
derful advances  in  science  and  art,  are  doomed  after 
all  to  a  life  of  unceasing  anxiety  and  toil. 

So  far  we  have  spoken  of  the  simple  manual  la- 
borers. As  we  have  already  stated,  the  condition  of 
one  class  in  society  reacts  on  that  of  others.  The 
body  politic  can  not  be  healthy  unless  all  its  members 
are  healthy.  Responding  most  readily  to  this  influ- 
ence we  find  the  agricultural  interest,  though  it  suffers 
as  well  from  evils  peculiar  to  itself.  Farmers  and 
farm  laborers  do  not  suffer  for  lack  of  food  or  clothes, 
though  not  always  of  the  best.  Yet  something  very 
like  the   Ricardian  law  of  wages   is  at  work  in  the 

farmer's  case,  as  well  as  the  laborer.     He  works  cer- 

3 


34  INTKODUCTION. 

tainly  very  hard  from  one  year's  end  to  the  other. 
Yet  is  it  not  true  that  the  rewards  of  his  labor  tend 
to  a  balance  just  about  the  point  where  they  yield  him 
a  mere  living?  If  he  is  not  in  debt  for  his  farm,  he 
may  by  hard  work  and  thrifty  management  live  com- 
fortably, and  even  lay  by  a  store  for  old  age  or  the 
proverbial  rainy  day.  But  if  in  debt,  as  so  many  are, 
and  taking  the  country  at  large  their  number  seems 
to  be  increasing,  it  is  all  but  impossible  to  clear  off 
the  mortgage. 

Strive  as  he  will,  the  value  of  the  produce  he  has 
to  sell,  as  in  the  case  of  all  commodities,  approaches 
nearer  and  nearer  the  cost  of  production — that  is  to 
say,  to  the  labor  exerted,  for  labor  is  at  least  the 
principal  element  in  the  cost,  and  this  labor  is  of  the 
same  value,  or  brings  the  same  price  as  labor  gener- 
ally, and  that  is,  as  we  have  stated,  just  what  will 
yield  a  living ;  he  has  nothing  left  over  to  reduce  his 
debt.  In  case  he  owns  his  farm,  he  has  simply  saved 
the  interest  on  the  value  of  his  farm ;  that  is  all. 
Making  allowance  for  exceptional  circumstances,  such 
as  a  failure  of  crops  in  one  locality  and  an  abundant 
harvest  in  another,  there  seems  to  be  no  escape  from 
these  conclusions.  Where  is  the  error  in  the  reason- 
ing? The  market  price  of  all  freely  produced  com- 
modities, in  the  long  run,  depends  on  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction. Labor  is  the  principal  element  in  the  cost 
of  production.  And  the  cost  of  labor  itself  is  simply 
a  living. 


INTRODUCTION.  35 

So  then  we  find  the  farmers  of  this  and  other 
lands  but  one  degree  above  the  laborer.  Theirs  is  a 
life  of  privation  and  toil,  with  but  scanty  returns.  We 
do  not  see  how  we  can  look  for  any  great  improve- 
ment in  the  immediate  future  under  the  present  in- 
dustrial system.  We  have  said  that  the  farmer  who 
owned  his  land  was  in  quite  a  different  condition  than 
one  heavily  in  debt.  If  he  has  a  farm  valued  at  six 
thousand  dollars,  he  has  then  that  much  capital.  A 
laborer  who  has  command  of  that  amount  of  capital 
is  very  differently  situated  indeed  from  one  having 
nothing.  Land  in  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States  has 
of  late  years  declined  in  value,  because  by  improved 
means  of  transportation  it  has  been  brought  in  con- 
nection with  other  land  in  the  West.  These  conditions 
will  in  time  adjust  themselves,  and  land  will  then,  as 
a  whole,  steadily  rise.  In  time  the  holders  of  such 
land  will  cease  to  be  farmers  and  become  landlords  if 
their  farm  be  of  any  great  size.  Such  landlords  pass 
at  once  out  of  our  calculation.  We  are  only  con- 
cerned with  farmers  who  work  their  own  land  for  a 
living,  and  tenant  farmers. 

It  seems  to  us  quite  evident  that  the  trouble  with 
our  agriculturial  interest  is  similar  to  that  of  the  labor 
in  general.  We  must  some  way  or  other  raise  the 
value  of  labor.  We  must  some  way  overthrow  the 
iron  law  of  wages  and  introduce  another  principal  in 
its  stead.  It  really  ought  to  require  no  argument  to 
show  this.     Something  is  surely  wrong,  if  with  all  the 


36  INTRODUCTION. 

resources  of  science  at  our  command,  if  with  the  won- 
derful improvements  in  labor-saving  inventions,  if  with 
the  rapid  introduction  of  that  new  agent,  electricity, 
which  promises  to  effect  a  more  wonderful  revolution 
than  did  the  introduction  of  steam,  we  can  not  con- 
trive some  plan  by  which  the  appalling  mass  of  abject 
misery  in  our  large  cities  among  the  poorest  classes 
can  not  be  alleviated.  Something  is  wrong,  we  repeat, 
in  our  civilization,  if  life  to  the  majority  of  our  fellow- 
men  is  to  be  simply  one  weary  round  of  labor,  un- 
lighted  by  hope,  overhung  by  the  darkness  of  a  name- 
less fear  that  something  may  happen  to  deprive  them 
.of  their  present  pittance. 

We  believe  that  something  can  be  done.  The 
difficulties  are  indeed  many.  But  this  is  not  the  first 
time  that  civilization  has  had  to  rouse  itself  and  intro- 
duce far-reaching  changes.  This  will  be  brought  out 
more  clearly  in  a  brief  historical  sketch  which  we  will 
give  in  the  following  chapters.  We  do  not  suppose 
there  is  a  royal  road  to  happiness  any  more  than 
there  is  to  learning.  There  will  never  be  an  era  when 
it  will  not  be  necessary  for  men  to  strive  to  enter  in 
at  the  narrow  gate.  Labor  will  always  be  the  price 
of  success.  Still  much  more  can  undoubtedly  be 
done  by  society  at  large  to  help  its  members  than  has 
been  done  for  the  last  few  centuries.  Political  econ- 
omy has  been  made  a  fetish,  and  now  it  is  necessary 
for  us  to  break  away  from  some  of  its  notions.  Let 
us  get  firmly  in  our  mind  this  fact :  that  society  is  a 


INTRODUCTION. 


37 


living,  growing  organism  ;  that  it  has  passed  through 
different  stages  of  growth  in  the  past,  and  there  is 
nothing  to  prevent  it  changing  form  in  the  future  if  it 
becomes  apparent  that  the  best  interests  of  civiliza- 
tion demand  such  change. 


38 


PRIMITIVE   LIFE. 


COPTER  11. 

PRIMITIVE    LI  FE. 

Tendency  of  thought — Social  institutions  a  growth — Proba- 
ble ordor  of  development — Means  of  obtaining  information  as  to 
past  times — Late  conclusions  as  to  primitive  times — How  to  procede 
— The  communal  band — Primitive  rights — Illustrations  from  Aus- 
tralia— Tribal  society — Outlines  of  a  tribe — Tribe  ruled  by  custom 
— Internal  government  of  a  tribe — Ideas  of  property — Development 
of  tribal  society — The  Aryans — The  Teutonic  Aryans — The  primi- 
tive Germans — Rise  of  agriculture — Territorial  divisions  of  the 
German  tribes — The  common  ownership  of  land — Development  in 
England — Roman  period — The  Saxon  conquest — How  the  Saxons 
settled  in  England — The  English  village  described — How  the  com- 
mon land  was  divided — How  cultivated — Each  village  an  insolated 
one — Slow  changes  in  the  village  community — Growth  of  the 
G^&$>  j  kingly  power — General  conclusions. 


IS  natural  for  us  to  transfer  to  other 
people  and  other  times  our  pres- 
ent knowlodge.  Without  stopping 
to  reason  about  it,  we  conclude  that 
the  present  social  customs  must  al- 
ways have  existed,  or  if  at  any  time  the  ordinary 
usages  were  different,  we  assume  that  such  usages 
must  have  been,  in  some  way,  unnatural.  This  ten- 
dency is  but  one  side  of  that  self-conceit  so  natural  to 
man.  Each  people  think  that  their  country,  their 
customs,  their  manners  are  superior  to  those  of  any 


H 

X 

w 

0 
T3 
13 
33 
PI 
w 
w 

M 

o 

2 

0 

r 

> 

o 

33 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  41 

other  country.  This  observation  need  not  be  confined 
to  national  affairs,  for  it  shows  itself  in  local  matters, 
the  people  of  one  section  often  have  quite  an  exasper- 
ating— if  it  were  not  so  ridiculous — way  of  assuming 
that  they  are  a  little  better  than  the  people  of  other 
sections.  More  extended  study  and  observation  shows 
us  the  folly  of  such  opinions.  In  no  direction  is  this 
inclination  more  marked  than  in  the  innocent  conceit 
of  assuming  that  our  present  social  institutions  are 
necessarily  better  than  any  that  have  preceded  them, 
or  are  more  in  accordance  with  nature.  In  short,  that 
we  have  finally  reached  the  end  of  progress  in  that 
particular  field. 

The  fact  is  that  every  one  of  our  social  institutions, 
our  form  of  government,  the  family,  the  institution  of 
private  property,  is  a  result.  They  are  the  present 
forms,  assumed  after  passing  through  a  long  line  of 
developments.  Our  modern  family  is  perhaps  the 
finest  flower  of  civilization.  It  is  truly  worthy  of  all 
the  poetic  and  beautifnl  sentiments  showered  on  it,  but 
a  great  mistake  is  made  when  we  suppose  this  par- 
ticular form  was  the  primitive  one.  If  it  is  one  of  the 
fairest  flowers  of  civilization,  it  is  also  one  of  the  latest. 

While  this  fact  is  known,  at  least  to  any  one  who 
cares  to  investigate  the  subject,  yet  such  is  the  force 
of  habit,  that  writers  of  acknowledged  ability  contin- 
ually talk  and  write  as  if  there  never  was  any  other 
form  of  family  known,  or  at  least  as  if  this  was  the 
only  one  that  was  "natural,"  whatever  they  may  mean 


42      -  PRIMITIVE    LIFE. 

by  that  statement.  And  we  still  notice  such  people 
when  describing  the  growth  of  government  talking 
about  the  family  developing  into  the  clan,  the  clan  into 
the  tribe,  Now  the  reverse  of  that  order  of  develop- 
ment, if  not  strictly  true,  is  much  more  correct.  When 
we  talk  about  the  evolution  of  government,  we  are  on 
grounds  more  or  less  familiar  to  all.  We  all  know 
that  everywhere  underlying  our  present  form  of  terri- 
torial government,  is  ancient  tribal  society.  When 
this  country  was  discovered  its  only  form  of  govern- 
ment was  tribal.  Ancient  history  tells  us  about  the 
tribes  of  the  various  branches  of  Aryan  people  and 
other  people  of  antiquity.  Manifestly  our  territorial 
government  grew  out  of  tribal  society,  just  as  tribal 
society  in  turn,  must  have  grown  out  of  something  else. 
It  seems  to  us  that  it  will  be  of  great  help  to  get  this 
fact  firmly  in  mind,  and  so  we  propose  to  devote  this 
chapter  to  an  outline  history  of  the  growth  of  govern- 
ment. 

In  explaining  to  us  the  theories  of  astronomy,  the 
scholars  call  our  attention  to  various  heavenly  bodies, 
illustrating  different  stages  of  growth.  There  are 
Nebulae,  showing  different  degrees  of  condensation. 
In  our  system  there  is  Saturn  with  his  rings,  which 
probably  illustrates  an  extremely  interesting  stage  of 
planetary  development.  Jupiter,  still  faintly  glowing 
with  internal  fires,  is  a  picture  of  an  early  geological 
age  of  the  earth.  Our  moon,  which  resembles  nothing 
so  much  as  a  huge  cinder,  faithfully  portrays  the  future 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  43 

of  our  planet.  This  method  of  teaching  is  the  com- 
parative method.  It  has  justly  become,  of  late  years, 
a  favorite  method  with  those  who  undertake  to  study 
into  the  history  of  the  origin  and  development  of  cult- 
ure. It  is  true  we  have  no  people,  to  whom  we  can 
turn  for  ideas  as  to  future  civilization,  but  there  are 
scattered  over  the  earth  people  who  have  halted  in 
various  stages  of  growth.  If  we  learn  about  them  we 
can  form  quite  correct  ideas  of  past  progress.  We 
must  admit  that  even  the  lowest  of  existing  savages 
are  considerably  removed  from  primitive  man,  and 
consequently,  unless  we  fall  back  on  theory,  it  would 
seem  to  be  hopeless  to  reconstruct  the  outlines  of  a 
vanished  past. 

But  man  is  not  used  to  acknowledge  defeat.  If 
he  cannot  achieve  his  ends  one  way,  he  tries  others. 
We  can  illustrate  by  referring  to  other  branches,  for 
instance  to  geology.  With  what  patience  have  the 
many  difficulties  in  the  pursuit  of  this  science  been 
confronted?  Most  distant  discoveries  have  been 
joined  until  we  are  enabled  to  read  the  story  of  the 
past  as  from  the  pages  of  an  open  book.  In  a  some- 
what similar  way  we  have  gone  at  the  problem  of  the 
past  of  man's  life  on  the  globe.  Volumes  have  been 
written  on  the  interesting  results  that  have  been 
brought  to  light.  Our  present  inquiry  is  concerned  in 
but  one  phase  of  this  question.  We  will,  however, 
refer  to  some  of  the  conclusions  reached  as  to  the  an- 
tiqnity  of  man,  since  this  is  more  or  less  connected 


44  PRIMITIVE   LIFE. 

with  the  subject  in  hand.  When  it  was  believed  that 
man  had  lived  on  the  earth  but  a  few  thousand  years, 
it  was  quite  natural  to  assume  that  he  had  passed 
rapidly  through  the  various  stages  of  civilization  ;  and, 
in  fact,  it  was  held  that  man  was  civilized  to  start  with. 
It  was  of  course  admitted  that  he  did  not  have  daily 
papers,  electric  motors  or  telephones,  or  the  thousand 
and  one  conveniences  of  modern  life,  but  for  "all  that  he 
was  supposed  to  be  a  most  noble  barbarian  ;  keeping 
flocks  and  herds,  building  cities,  working  various 
metals,  and  possessing  an  especially  good  knowledge 
of  the  requirements  of  religion. 

This  pleasing  picture  of  primitive  culture  was  in 
a  sense  a  necessary  picture  to  form  the  only  one,  in 
fact,  in  keeping  with  the  surroundings,  as  long  as  the 
recent  origin  of  man  was  supposed  to  be  the  true 
theory.  But  of  late  years  we  have  better  means  of 
information  on  this  important  subject.  From  innu- 
merable sources  evidence  accumulates  that  man's  life 
on  the  earth  extends  over  a  vastly  prolonged  period 
of  time.  We  can  not  give  definite  figures;  all  we  can 
say  is  that  a  shadowy,  unknown  period  of  years  con- 
fronts us,  one  extending  far  into  the  past,  lost  in  the 
very  night  of  time ;  the  six  thousand  years  formerly 
allowed,  in  all  probability  being  but  an  insignifi- 
cant fraction  of  the  whole.  Keeping  pace  with  this 
changed  idea  of  the  antiquity  of  man  has  been  formed 
a  much  more  correct  idea  of  his  primitive  state.  We 
now  know  that  he  started  emphatically  at  the  begin- 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  45 

ning.  The  very  language  that  he  spoke  had  to  be 
invented  just  as  truly  as  the  few  rudely  shaped  flints 
he  used  to  procure  food  or  to  defend  himself  from 
fierce  animals  had  to  to  prepared  for  their  purpose. 
It  follows  as  a  natural  consequence  that  all  social  in- 
stitutions were  invented  and  slowly  changed  as  man's 
knowledge  increased.  By  social  institutions  we  mean, 
amongst  other  things,  all  forms  of  union  of  man  with 
man  in  family  life,  for  government  purposes,  as  well 
as  all  ideas  of  property. 

We  will  add  to  these  statements,  though  it  is 
really  scarcely  necessary  to  do  so  at  the  present  day, 
that  they  are  no  longer  theory  or  open  questions. 
They  are  as  much  a  part  of  established  science  as  the 
general  statements  of  geology  or  astronomy.  No  well- 
educated  persons  now  question  them,  though,  owing 
to  a  kind  of  mental  inertia,  many  well  informed,  and 
presumably  honest  men,  still  write  and  talk  as  if  they 
had  heard  nothing  about  them.  They  probably  go  on 
the  theory  that  the  but  half-educated  portion  of  their 
hearers  or  readers  would  be  utterly  bewildered  if  they 
should  speak  out  freely,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
those  fully  informed  will  understand  that  their  words 
are  not  to  be  taken  in  their  general  sense  after  all. 

Since,  as  we  have  stated,  even  the  lowest  of  ex- 
isting savages  are  considerably  removed  from  the 
condition  of  primitive  man,  it  is  not  sufficient  for  our 
purpose  to  merely  acquaint  ourselves  with  their  pres- 
ent organization,  or  learn  the  general  outlines  of  their 


46  PRIMITIVE    LIFE. 

culture.  We  must  study  the  language,  note  the 
meaning  of  words,  examine  their  customs,  and  see  if 
we  can  not  detect  here  and  there  survivals,  extending 
over  a  wide  range  of  territory,  meaningless  or  absurd 
in  themselves,  yet  referring  us  to  a  time  when  a  state 
of  society  did  exist  in  which  these  strange  customs 
formed  a  useful  and  appropriate  part.  Primitive  man, 
like  his  descendants  to-day,  did  not  adopt  customs 
without  having  what  he  thought  was  some  good  rea- 
son. It  may  very  well  be  that  the  reason  was  childish, 
even  foolish,  judging  from  our  present  enlightenment; 
but  it  was  neither  one  nor  the  other  to  primitive  man. 
To  illustrate  our  meaning  in  this  last  statement, 
we  will  refer  to  an  extremely  widespread  custom 
among  but  partially  civilized  people,  namely,  the 
avoidance  of  all  social  intercourse  between  relatives 
by  marriage.  Among  our  Indian  tribes  generally,  it 
was  considered  extremely  improper  for  a  woman  to 
speak  to  her  son-in-law,  or  even  to  look  at  him. 
Among  the  rude  tribes  in  Asia,  we  find  substantially 
the  same  rule ;  a  married  woman  must  never  speak  to 
her  father-in-law.  Among  the  Chinese,  the  father-in- 
law  never  sees  his  son's  wife,  if  he  can  avoid  it,  after 
the  wedding  day.  The  aborigines  of  Australia  have 
the  same  idea.  It  is  a~  social  calamity  for  a  man  to 
come  in  contact  with  his  wife's  mother.  If  absolutely 
necessary  to  hold  some  sort  of  communication,  they 
turn  their  backs  to  each  other  and  shout  out  the  words 
at  the  top  of  their  voice,  the  fiction  being  that  they 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  47 

are  a  great  distance  apart.  Now,  seriously,  there 
must  be  some  reason  for  a  custom  such  as  this  extend- 
ing over  a  wide  extent  of  country.  There  must  once 
have  been  a  state  of  society  which  rendered  such  for- 
malities necessary.  The  task  before  the  investigator 
is  to  explain  the  origin  of  this  and  similar  customs, 
for  this  is  only  one  illustration  of  the  steps  that  must 
be  taken  by  scientific  men  to  form  a  clear  idea  of  prim- 
itive society.  They  study  these  primitive  customs, 
they  analyze  language,  and  thus,  bit  by  bit,  they  are 
enabled  to  form  a  picture  of  primitive  life  and  times. 
Briefly,  then,  as  the  result  of  a  wonderful  amount 
of  painstaking  observation,  we  can  state  that  organ- 
ized society  began  by  the  formation  of  communal 
bands,  which  were  simply  intermarrying  groups.  We 
say  organized  society,  for  what  lay  back  of  that  we 
have  no  means  of  knowing.  This  communal  band,  or 
cluster,  or  group,  had  rights  and  duties  in  common ; 
even  individual  marriage  was  unknown ;  group  mar- 
riage was  the  custom.  We  will  make  a  great  mistake, 
however,  to  assume  that  this  was  a  condition  of  utter 
lawlessness.  Custom  was  just  as  strong,  and  viola- 
tions of  it  were  punished  quite  as  promptly  as  under 
more  advanced  forms  of  society.  Individuals  of  such 
a  band  "  had  no  idea  of  property  in  land  ;  such  a  con- 
ception was  still  far  in  the  future.  Of  personal  prop- 
erty only  the  faintest  conception  existed.  The  articles 
composing  their  scanty  wearing  apparel,  some  simple 
weapons  and  tools,  must  have  included  all.     One  in- 


48  PRIMITIVE   LIFE. 

dividual  could  not  become  rich,  another  poor.  All 
stood  on  the  same  level.  Even  game  killed  by  a  for- 
tunate hunter  was  not  his  exclusive  property;  custom 
compelled  him  to  divide  with  the  other  members  of  his 
band." 

No  communal  bands  have  ever  been  discovered, 
yet  we  feel  reasonably  sure  that  we  are  not  far  out  of 
the  way  in  sketching  their  organization  and  delineat- 
ing a  few  of  their  customs.  We  are  enabled  to  do 
this  with  some  confidence,  because  so  many  lines  of 
evidence  seem  to  converge  in  that  direction.  Their 
previous  existence  is  vouched  for  by  circumstantial 
evidence,  which  is  often  the  strongest  kind  of  evi- 
dence. To  illustrate  from  natural  science,  physicists 
and  chemists  theorize  about  atoms.  No  one  ever  saw 
an  atom,  and  yet  they  reason  about  them,  formulate 
laws  in  reference  to  them,  and  are  not  afraid  to  found 
their  science  on  their  existence.  This  is  not  the  place 
to  go  into  any  extended  observation  to  show  that  the 
communal  band  was  the  primitive  form,  the  cell,  of 
social  organization. 

We  must  content  ourselves  with  boldly  stating 
the  fact.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to  note  well  a  few 
points.  In  these  bands  there  were  not  only  no  such 
thing  as  personal  rights,  or  personal  property,  beyond 
at  least  the  few  trifles  we  have  indicated;  but  we 
think,  on  a  more  careful  examination,  we  will  miss  a 
vast  number  of  "natural  rights"  we  hear  so  much 
about.   The  individual  does  not  even  have  the  natural 


PEIMITIVE    LIFE.  49 

right  to  his  own  labor.  The  fact  is,  personal  privi- 
leges or  rights  were  only  won  for  the  individual  when 
civilization  had  made  great  advance ;  they  constitute 
a  concession  which  a  higher  civilization  still,  or  more 
pressing  social  wants  may  modify,  or  even  recall  alto- 
gether. 

These  bands  could  have  included  but  compara- 
tively few  individuals.  Advance  consisted  in  the  union 
of  two  or  more  bands  in  a  tribe.  The  changed  laws 
in  reference  to  marriage  would  remain  as  evidence  of 
such  union.  When  we  reach  this  stage  of  develop- 
ment, we  are  on  the  solid  ground  of  observation.  We 
actually  find  primitive  Australian  tribes,  or  rather  they 
were  to  be  found  a  few  years  ago,  that  consisted  of 
four — rarely  of  eight — intermarrying  groups.  And 
we  know  almost  to  a  certainty,  from  the  evidence  of 
language,  that  this  custom  must  once  have  been  ex- 
tremely wide-spread.  Now,  as  this  is  probably  the 
form  of  primitive  society,  the  first  form  of  which  we 
have  survivals,  the  form  from  which  our  present  com- 
plex social  system  has  developed,  it  may  be  of  inter- 
est to  briefly  examine  it. 

The  customs  of  a  South  Australian  tribe,  when 
first  discovered,  furnishes  the  model.  Every  individ- 
ual in  the  tribe  belonged  to  one  of  two  divisions.  If 
a  male,  he  was  either  a  Kumite  or  a  Kroki ;  if  a  fe- 
male, she  was  either  a  Kumitegor  or  a  Krokigor.  The 
classes  were  quite  easily  distinguished  from  each  other 
by  various  marks.     It  was  not  a  question  of  choice  to 


50  PKIMITIVE   LIFE. 

which  division  a  native  belonged ;  he  or  she  was  born 
into  one  or  the  other  class,  and  there  he  remained. 
As  stated,  marriage  was  in  the  group.  The  group 
Kroki  was  husband  of  the  group  Kumitegor,  and  the 
other  two  groups  were  also  intermarrying  groups.  In- 
dividuals of  the  two  groups,  even  if  perfect  strangers 
to  each  other,  were  none  the  less  theoretically  hus- 
band and  wife  to  each  other.  The  children  belonged 
to  the  same  class  as  their  mother.  If  she  was  a  Ku- 
mitegor, the  children  were,  if  males,  Kumite ;  if  fe- 
males, Kumitegor.  Changing  names,  the  same  result 
would  work  out  for  the  other  two  groups. 

With  a  few  modifying  statements,  this  is  proba- 
bly a  fair  outline  of  primitive  society  generally.  At 
any  rate,  it  is  in  accordance  with  our  present  informa- 
tion. It  is  no  hypothetical  case,  but  an  actual  outline 
of  tribal  life  in  Australia.  Traces  of  such  a  state  of 
society  have  been  found  all  over  Polynesia,  in  India 
and  in  Africa.  We  do  not  say  that  this  was  the  prim- 
itive form  of  society  among  the  White,  or  even  the 
Yellow  races.  But  it  seems  to  have  been  widely  ex- 
tended among  the  Black  races,  and  perhaps  was  al- 
ready passing  away  when  the  Yellow  races  appeared 
on  the  scene. 

Observe  that  nothing  like  the  modern  family  was 
in  existence,  though  exceptional  cases  might  have 
occurred.  There  could  have  been  no  ideas  of  prop- 
erty, though  the  tribe  considered  a  certain  illy-defined 
section  of  country  as  their  home,  and  were  ready  to 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  51 

defend  it  as  such.  The  chief  or  king  was  simply  a 
skillful  warrior  or  hunter,  with  no  definite  authority. 
Yet  this  tribe  had  its  customs,  which  must  be  obeyed- 
Should  one  man  presume  to  marry  a  woman  of  his 
own  class,  death  was  the  penalty.  We  have  no  means 
of  knowing  how  long  this  was  the  prevailing  form  of 
society,  but  in  all  probability  it  extended  over  a  very 
prolonged  period.  But  the  time  finally  came  when  a 
change  was  to  be  made,  and  this  introduces  us  to 
tribal  society. 

Tribal  society  is  a  very  important  stage  of  social 
evolution.  It  still  exists  over  a  large  portion  of  the 
earth,  though  perhaps  not  in  its  normal  form.  Broadly 
speaking,  it  seems  to  have  been  introduced  by  the 
Yellow  races.  We  have  certain  reasons  for  conclud- 
ing that  the  Yellow  races  did  not  commence  their 
spread  over  the  earth  until  long  after  the  Black  races 
had  been  in  existence.  We  have  no  means  of  decid- 
ing when  it  was  they  commenced  their  march,  pushing 
before  them  the  Black  races.  As  far  as  we  can  now 
decide,  however,  they  had  sent  out  great  bands  of  mi- 
grating people  from  their  home  land  in  Northern  Asia 
as  early  as  7000  or  8000  B.  C. 

Now  we  are  quite  well  aware  that  these  state- 
ments sound  strange  to  some.  And  we  know  they 
sound  strange  even  to  those  well  informed  in  ancient 
history.  We  want  to  remark  that  history,  and  espe- 
cially primitive  history,  has  been  wonderfully  devel- 
oped of  late  years.  A  volume  would  be  required  to 
4 


52  PRIMITIVE    LIFE. 

thoroughly  elucidate  this  matter.  We  shall  not  at- 
tempt it  here,  but  content  ourselves  with  the  simple 
remark  that  these  results  are  not  "guess  work"  nor 
theory,  but  are  sober  conclusions,  which  seem  to  be 
indicated  by  our  present  investigation,  admitting  that 
further  research  may  overthrow  them  altogether.  We 
must  bear  in  mind  that  the  prehistoric  period  of  man's 
life  on  the  earth,  which  vastly  exceeds  the  historic  pe- 
riod, has  only  recently  became  a  field  of  research. 

But  be  the  facts  as  they  may,  we  know  that  tribal 
society  everywhere  underlies  modern  political  society. 
In  ancient  history  we  read  about  the  tribes-  of  the 
Greeks,  the  Romans,  the  Germans,  the  Persians, 
Medes  and  Hindoos.  We  now  know  that  the  nomes 
of  ancient  Egypt  meant  simply  the  tribes  of  that 
country.  The  Bible  acquaints  us  fully  with  the  tribes 
of  the  Israelites.  Tribal  society  is,  however,  quite  a 
complicated  affair.  It  is  by  no  means  every  wander- 
ing body  of  people  that  constitutes  a  tribe.  It  is  very 
important  for  us  to  try  and  understand  the  outline  of 
tribal  organization,  keeping  the  form  from  which  it 
probably  sprung  firmly  in  mind.  We  can  only  under- 
stand the  developments  of  social  institutions  by  ac- 
quainting ourselves  with  these  primitive  forms. 

It  is  extremely  hard  to  give  in  a  limited  space 
with  any  clearness,  a  description  of  tribal  organization. 
Then  a  further  difficulty  is  that  we  are  compelled  to 
use  words  and  phrases  not  in  general  use  and  conse- 
quently more  or  less  unfamiliar  to  the  general  reader, 


PEIMITIVE    LIFE.  53 

we  must,  however,  make  the  attempt.  We  have  seen 
that  the  union  oi  two  or  more  communal  bands  gave 
us  an  Australian  tribe  consisting  of  two  great  class 
divisions,  four  intermarrying  groups.  As  might  be  ex- 
pected, a  tribe,  when  tribal  society  became  fully  organ- 
ized, still  showed  the  model  from  which  it  sprang.  As 
a  rule  wherever  found  the  world  over,  the  old  class 
divisions,  in  a  somewhat  altered  form,  still  existed. 
They  formed  the  first  division  of  the  tribe.  Different 
names  were  used  by  different  people  to  designate  these 
branches.  The  Greeks  called  them  phratries,  the 
Romans  called  them  curies,  the  Teutons  called  them 
hundreds,  the  Hebrews  called  them  bethaboth,  meaning 
fathers-house.  Amongst  these  diversities  of  names 
Mr.  Morgan,  who  is  the  pioneer  in  the  scientific  inves- 
tigations of  Ancient  Society,  selects  the  Greek  word 
phratry  to  express  this  division  generally.  We  would 
naturally  expect  the  class  division  to  weaken  as  time 
passed  on,  for  they  were  simply  survivals,  and  the 
tendency  was  for  them  to  slowly  disappear.  The  con- 
servative influence  of  religion  kept  them  alive.  Among 
our  Indian  tribes  the  classes  were  kept  in  existence 
mainly  by  certain  survivals  in  ceremonial  affairs, 
though  in  many  tribes  the  old  class  law  of  marriage 
was  still  in  force,  a  man  must  seek  his  wife  in  another 
phratry.  Among  the  Greeks,  the  phratry  was  almost 
wholly  concerned  in  religious  matters.  Among  the 
various  Teutonic  tribes,  the  results  were  quite  similar. 
Investigators  have  been  struck  with  the  fact  without 


54  PRIMITIVE   LIFE. 

knowing  why,  that  the  hundreds  "always  had  a  ten- 
dency to  decay." 

We  can  all  understand  how  when  the  customs 
which  originally  gave  rise  to  the  classes,  were  gradu- 
ally abandoned,  the  class  division  itself  would  tend  to 
fall  in  ruins.  The  simple  fact  was  that  the  time  had 
finally  come  when  advancing  culture  was  ready  to  throw 
off  the  class  divisions,  they  had  become  broken  up  into 
separate  smaller  bodies.  No  one  knows  just  what  in- 
fluences brought  about  this  result.  We  can  easily 
conjure  up  some  reasons  which  may  have  been  suffi- 
cient. Suppose  a  large  band  of  the  Australian  tribe 
we  have  alluded  to,  composed  of  Kumite  men  with  a 
corresponding  number  of  Krokigor  women  had  wan- 
dered into  a  river  valley  to  fish,  and  finding  game  very 
plentiful,  the  valley  if  not  overflowing  with  milk  and 
honey,  abounding  in  fat  kangaroos,  had  adopted  it  as 
their  home.  Now  the  children  belong  to  the  Kroki 
class,  but  though  they  are  savages  they  are  as  self- 
conceited  as  humanity  in  general,  and  so  they  distin- 
guish themselves  as  the  Kangaroo-Kroke  and  Kroki- 
gors ;  on  identically  the  same  principle  that  we  take 
pride  in  that  we  are  natives  of  some  one  section  of 
our  beloved  country,  which  to  our  fond  conceit  is  a 
little  better  than  any  other  section.  But  what  had 
happened  to  this  band,  had  happened  to  other  bands 
as  well,  and  so  the  full  Australian  tribe  appear  with 
each  of  its  classes,  divided  into  three  great  bands. 

Now  we  can  not  say  that  this  is  how  they  came 


PRIMITIVE   LIFE,  55 

to  divide  into  these  three  bands,  We  only  know  that 
this  division  had  some  way  or  other  taken  place.  We 
must  understand  further  that  a  native  could  not  migrate 
from  one  band  to  another  at  his  pleasure.  He  was  born 
into  one  of  these  bands  and  there  he  staid.  It  remains 
to  be  added  that  some  way,  the  world  over,  this  sub- 
division of  the  phratries  had  taken  place.  The  names 
of  these  divisions  of  course  varied  in  various  parts  of 
the  world.  The  Hebrews  called  them  families,  the 
Romans  called  them  gentes,  etc.  The  word  gens  has 
been  adopted  by  Mr.  Morgan  as  the  name  of  this 
division. 

We  are  now  in  condition  to  understand  how  a 
tribe  was  organized,  It  was  a  body  of  people,  who 
considered  themselves  bound  together  by  ties  of  blood  ; 
they  spoke  a  common  language ;  they  were  generally 
divided  into  two  or  more  large  divisions,  called  phra- 
tries, though  this  division  tended  to  disappear,  since 
it  properly  belonged  to  an  earlier  form  of  society ; 
finally  each  of  the  phratries  was  divided  into  smaller 
bands  of  people,  called  gentes.  Now  we  want  to 
glance  at  their  ideas  of  government,  of  property,  and 
of  family  life,  and  pay  especial  attention  to  the  gens. 
Notice,  however,  that  tribal  society  in  its  purity  as 
here  sketched  is  largely  prehistoric.  It  was  probably 
first  developed  by  the  Yellow  races  and  was  co-exten- 
sive with  their  spread.  The  Indian  tribes  of  this 
country  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  America,  fur- 
nish the  nearest  approach  to  this  model.     Causes 


56  PRIMITIVE   LIFE. 

were  at  work  to  disrupt  the  gens,  and  when  the  White 
appeared  on  the  scene,  they  introduced  still  further 
elements  of  change. 

We  have  traced  the  gradual  evolution  of  govern- 
ment as  far  as  tribal  society.  It  is  seen  to  be  some- 
thing quite  different  from  what  we  have  supposed  it  to 
be.  We  are  still  far  from  the  appearance  of  any 
systematized  body  of  laws,  but  let  us  repeat  that  law- 
lessness was  not  the  rule.  Law  is  simply  a  rule  of 
action,  and  it  is  the  same  in  quality  whether  it  be 
written  or  unwritten.  Primitive  people  are  governed 
by  primitive  customs,  which  may  seem  to  us  in  some 
cases  grotesque.  Yet  primitive  man  acted  up  to  the 
best  light  he  had  in  all  these  matters.  One  observa- 
tion must  here  be  made  as  to  primitive  ideas  of  rights 
and  wrongs.  The  "  noble  savages  "  that  some  writers 
talk  about,  did  not  recognize  any  natural  rights  of 
others,  unless  they  were  connected  with  his  particular 
tribe.  A  state  of  war  was  almost  the  normal  state  of 
affairs  between  tribes.  It  was  considered  a  merito- 
rious thing  to  kill  members  of  other  tribes,  to  rob  them 
of  their  goods,  to  enslave  the  helpless  women  and 
children.  As  time  passed  and  tribes  became  by  the 
growth  of  population  too  large  to  hold  together  as 
one  tribe,  other  tribes  swarmed  off  from  the  parent 
tribe.  Such  people  recognized  the  bond  uniting  them, 
but  still  they  considered  themselves  and  their  kindred 
tribes  as  the  only  people  having  any  rights  they  were 
bound  to  respect.     In  their  eyes  all  other  people  were 


PBIMITIVE    LIFE.  57 

barbarians,  dogs,  or  gentiles  ;  to  be  driven  from  their 
homes,  to  be  plundered  of  their  property,  or  to  be  en 
slaved.  We  must  constantly  bear  this  in  mind.  Ab- 
stract ideas  of  right,  of  justice,  to  which  man  as  man 
was  entitled,  were  ideas  of  very  slow  growth. 

As  for  internal  government,  the  tribe  was  a  very 
democratic  body.  Kings  and  their  divine  rights  had 
not  yet  appeared.  Each  band  or  gens,  had  as  its. 
representative  a  chief.  He  was  elected  by  the  mem- 
bers of  his  gens.  He  looked  after  their  general  inter- 
ests and  he  presided  at  the  council,  where  the  affairs 
of  the  gens  were  discussed  by  the  entire  body  of  the 
people.  At  the  head  of  the  phratry  also  was  an 
elected  chief,  whose  duties  were  quite  similar,  and  fi- 
nally there  was  the  tribal  chiei.  All  these  offices  were 
elective,  that  is  to  say,  they  depended  on  the  good  will 
of  the  people.  They  were  assisted  in  their  duties  by 
the  council.  We  of  course  understand  that  very  few 
tribes  conformed  to  this  standard  in  all  respects. 
Amongst  the  ruder  tribes,  the  office  of  chief  was  an 
insignificant  one  and  we  do  not  mean  there  was  any 
formal  election,  but  that  the  office  depended  wholly  on 
personal  merit. 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  primitive  Australian 
tribe  the  children  belonged  to  the  same  class  as  the 
mother.  A  very  simple  reason  can  be  given  for  this  : 
maternity  was  sure,  paternity  was  a  matter  of  doubt. 
Now  when  the  classes  had  became  broken  up  into 
gentes,  the  old  rule  of  marriage  still  applied  in  the  first 


58  PRIMITIVE  LIFE. 

place,  as  witness  the  fact  that  among  rude  tribes  the 
rule  was  that  a  man  must  choose  his  wife  from  another 
phratry.  But  as  the  phratries  declined  in  importance, 
the  force  of  the  old  rule  also  declined,  and  amongst 
most  people  the  rule  simply  was  that  a  man  must 
choose  his  wife  from  some  other  gens.  Group  mar- 
riage also  disappeared.  The  pairing  family  had  taken 
its  place.  This  form  of  family,  which  was  the  excep- 
tional form  in  the  ruder  state  of  society,  was  now  the 
principal  form.  But  this  was  not  our  modern  family. 
These  unions  were  but  loosely  formed  and  easily 
broken,  for  development  had  not  proceeded  far  enough 
to  allow  the  individual  family  to  exist  by  itself.  The 
gens  was  simply  a  congerie  of  easily  formed,  as  easily 
dissolving  couples.  But  in  this  custom  we  see  the  en- 
tering wedge,  which  was  destined  to  break  up  the  gens 
itself. 

Agreeable  to  the  old  rule  of  descent  the  children 
belonged  to  the  gens  of  the  mother.  A  chief's  son 
for  instance  could  not  succeed  him  in  office,  because 
he  was  a  member  of  a  different  gens.  With  the  excep- 
tions of  restrictions  in  marriage  rights,  the  weak  form 
of  the  pairing  family,  the  gens  was  quite  a  good  rep- 
resentative of  the  communal  band,  the  members  of  a 
gens  regarded  each  other  as  brothers  and  sisters,  and 
indeed  such  they  were.  But  now  notice  how  the  child- 
ren of  these  children  would  become  separated.  The 
children  of  the  females  would  continue  in  the  gens, 
and  would  regard  each  other  as  brothers  and  sisters, 


PRIMITIVE   LIFE.  59 

but  they  would  not  consider  themselves  related  to  the 
children  of  the  males.  To  express  that  in  ordinary 
language,  suppose  a  family  of  four  children,  two  boys 
and  two  girls.  When  these  children  grew  up  and  had 
children  of  their  own,  such  children  would  be  in  reality 
cousins  to  each  other.  But  in  the  gens,  the  children 
of  the  girls  would  belong  to  the  gens,  would  regard 
each  other  as  brothers  and  sisters,  but  would  not  re- 
gard themselves  as  even  related  to  their  cousins  the 
children  of  the  boys.  Long,  long  after  the  reason  for 
such  a  rule  had  disappeared,  such  ideas  of  relationship 
still  survived  to  puzzle  the  investigator,  until,  as  a 
result^  of  deeper  research,  the  reason  lies  before  us 
perfectly  plain.  It  is  seen  to  be  simply  a  survival  of 
prehistoric  customs. 

Ideas  of  property  were  of  slow  growth.  The  only 
change  we  need  here  notice  is  that  the  gens  has  be- 
come the  property  owning  group.  A  person  could 
not  become  richer  than  his  fellow  members  of  the  gens 
for  property  was  in  common  in  the  gens.  Theoretic- 
ally when  a  member  died  the  few  and  simple  articles 
of  personal  property  he  possessed  reverted  to  the 
common  property  of  the  gens.  Practically,  however, 
they  were  divided  among  his  nearest  blood  relatives 
in  the  gens.  But  notice  a  man's  children  could  not 
inherit  from  him,  because  they  were  of  a  different  gens. 

Let  us  pause  to  make  a  general  observation. 
Any  one  who  sets  out  to  study  the  development  of 
culture  will  be   struck  with  the   part   that  property, 


60  PRIMITIVE   LIFE. 

wealth,  has  played.  Think  for  a  moment  of  the  num- 
berless inventions  that  have  had  their  origin  in  the 
patient  investigations  of  those  who  were  searching 
for  some  material  good.  The  most  important  discov- 
eries were  made  by  men  who  endured  privations,  toil 
and  fatigue  for  the  sake  of  a  substantial  reward  that 
they  saw  before  them.  We  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
this  is  the  only  spring  of  action,  but  certainly  it  is  one 
of  the  most  effective.  It  has  played  an  important 
part  in  past  time  as  well.  The  course  of  civilization 
brings  more  and  more  to  the  front  individuals  and  in- 
dividual rights.  Primitive  man  knew  only  of  rights 
and  duties  of  groups.  Man's  desire  of  property,  the 
wish  to  have  the  sole  use  and  control  of  what  he  calls 
his  own,  with  power  of  disposing  of  it  as  he  sees  fit, 
was  one  of  the  most  active  agents  in  breaking  in  upon 
the  customs  of  the  gens. 

It  is  certainly  clear  that  as  soon "  as  articles  of 
personal  property  became  of  value  a  man  would  nat- 
urally desire  that  after  his  death  his  flocks,  his  weap- 
ons, and  in  general  his  property,  should  go  to  his  son. 
But  to  enable  him  to  do  this,  the  old  rule  of  descent 
had  to  be  broken  down.  Instead  of  the  children  be- 
longing to  the  gens  of  the  mother,  they  came  to 
belong  to  the  gens  of  the  father.  And  thus,  long  be- 
fore civilization  dawned  amongst  the  majority  of  ad- 
vanced tribes,  descent  had  come  to  be  in  the  male 
line.  But  a  vast  host  of  customs,  or  rather  relics  of 
customs,  survived  to  show  that  anciently  the  rule  was 
different. 


PRIMITIVE   LIFE.  61 

Probably  we  have  said  all  that  is  necessary  on 
tribal  society*  This  was  surely  a  most  interesting 
stage  of  social  development.  Now,  whatever  doubts 
there  may  be  entertained  as  to  what  we  have  said  as 
to  the  origin  of  tribal  society  itself,  there  need  be  no 
question  as  to  the  main  fact  that  this  form  of  govern- 
ment everywhere  preceded  our  present  forms  of  gov- 
ernment. There  need  be  no  question  either  as  to  the 
substantial  accuracy  of  the  general  outline  of  tribal 
rights  and  duties  as  we  have  sketched  them ;  for  there 
are  many  rude  tribes  still  in  existence  where  these 
rules  are  still  in  force,  and  many  quaint  customs  which 
can  only  be  explained  on  the  supposition  that  they  are 
survivals  of  ancient  customs.  Let  the  reader  notice 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  property  in  land ;  only  faint 
beginnings  of  personal  property,  and  no  favored 
classes,  no  rich  or  poor — all  were  on  an  equality. 

We  are  now  compelled  to  make  other  broad,  gen- 
eral statements,  without  giving  detailed  proof  of  the 
same.  To  do  so  would  require  far  more  space  than 
we  can  here  devote  to  the  subject.  We,  however,  in- 
sist that  the  statements  are  in  the  main  supported  by 
the  very  best  scholarship  of  the  day.  Tribal  society 
was  probably  fully  organized,  and  had  spread  itself 
very  largely  over  the  earth,  before  either  of  the  three 
great  divisions  of  the  White  race  became  differentiated 
or  separated  out  of  the  general  mass  of  the  Yellow 
races.  These  three  divisions  are  the  Hamites  or  An- 
cient Egyptians,  the  Semites,  represented  by  the  Is- 


62  PRIMITIVE   LIFE. 

raelites,  the  Assyrians,  the  Phoenicians,  etc.,  and  the 
Aryans  or  Europeans,  though  also  represented  by  the 
Hindoos,  the  Persians  and  some  other  people  in  Asia. 
There  is  probably  no  doubt  that  the  White  race,  in- 
cluding these  three  divisions,  was  the  last  to  make  its 
appearance  on  the  earth.  We  must  not,  however, 
suppose  that  there  was  any  clear  line  of  divisions  be- 
tween them  and  the  more  advanced  representatives  of 
the  Yellow  people. 

As  the  child  grows  into  manhood,  so  did  the 
great  divisions  of  the  White  race  make  their  appear- 
ance in  history.  Neither  was  there  a  common  home- 
land of  these  people,  where  they  dwelt  together  in 
peace  and  harmony.  They  appeared  at  different 
places  on  the  earth,  at  different  periods  of  time,  and 
came  in  contact  only  after  many  centuries  of  separate 
existence.  It  was  the  various  branches  of  the  White 
race  which  carried  tribal  society  to  its  greatest  devel- 
opment, and  who  abandoned  it  for  political  society, 
and  among  whom  civilization  made  its  first  home* 

A  most  interesting  vista  is  here  disclosed  to  view, 
but  we  must  resolutely  pass  it  by.  Egypt,  with  its 
ponderous  temples,  its  sphynx-lined  avenues,  its  mass- 
ive pyramids,  which  still  up-rear  their  towering  forms 
along  the  Nile;  this  land  of  historical  romance,  where 
the  glimmering  light  of  seventy  centuries  past  still 
lingers,  must  be  passed  by  in  silence.  The  same  is 
true  of  Ancient  Chaldea,  the  plains  of  Shinar,  the 
land  of  religious  myth,  where  exact  historical  dates  go 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  63 

back  for  thousands  of  years  before  the  Hebrews  de- 
parted from  Ur  of  Chaldea,  where  even  at  that  far 
away  time  we  are  conscious  that  before  us  lies  a  pro- 
longed period  of  shadowy  years  —  all  this  must  be 
passed  by.  We  have  space  only  for  the  Aryans,  and 
indeed  only  a  portion  of  them  will  be  treated  with  any 
fullness. 

The  Aryans  is  a  name  used  to  denote  all  the 
principal  inhabitants  of  Europe,  and  their  descend- 
ants, consequently  the  inhabitants  of  both  North  and 
South  America,  excepting  the  Aborigines,  and  it  also 
includes  some  of  the  principal  people  of  Asia,  as  the 
Hindoos,  Persians  and  numerous  tribes  in  Afghanis- 
tan and  neighboring  sections.  Our  scholars  class  the 
people  altogether,  because  of  a  family  resemblance  in 
the  languages  they  speak.  Take  for  instance  the 
English  and  the  German  languages.  They  are  built, 
we  may  say,  on  the  same  general  plan,  and  besides 
have  quite  a  stock  of  words  in  common.  They,  in 
fact,  belong  to  the  same  group  of  languages.  Now, 
in  this  case,  we  know  from  history  that  the  ancestors 
of  the  English  people  were  Germanic  tribes  from 
Europe.  Scholars  would  come  to  this  same  conclu- 
sion, even  if  all  historical  light  failed  them,  by  a  sim- 
ple comparison  of  the  languages  themselves.  It  is  by 
means  of  such  study  that  we  are  now  satisfied  that 
the  various  people  mentioned  above  are,  collectively, 
rightly  classed  as  Aryans.  There  must  have  been 
once  a  primitive  form  of  speech  from  which  these  va- 


64  PRIMITIVE    LIFE. 

rious  languages  have  descended,  or  at  least  been 
greatly  influenced  by  contact  with  the  primitive  lan- 
guage. 

It  was  formerly  quite  the  custom  to  speak  of  Asia 
as  the  home-land  of  the  Aryans.  As  this  question  is 
not  at  all  necessary  for  our  present  purpose,  we  shall 
not  dwell  on  it,  further  than  to  remark  that  the  whole 
tendency  of  present  investigation  is  to  locate  that 
primitive  home  in  Europe  rather  than  Asia.  We  en- 
tertain little  doubt  that  this  is  the  coming  theory.  In 
fact;  we  are  to  regard  the  Aryans  as  originating  in 
Europe,  a  result  brought  about  by  some  centuries  of 
intermingling  of  various  people,  much  as  there  is  being 
evolved  in  America  to-day  an  American  type  of  peo- 
ple, a  process  which  may  yet  require  hundreds  of 
years  to  bring  to  its  full  fruition. 

It  follows  that  the  Aryans  must  have  started  with 
fully  developed  tribal  society.  The  evidence  of  lan- 
guage alone  is  sufficient  to  show  that  they  never,  as 
Aryans,  passed  through  such  a  stage  of  development 
as  is  represented  by  the  class  divisions  of  the  Austra- 
lians. We  can  say  more  than  this.  The  pairing  fam- 
ily of  which  we  have  spoken  was  at  the  time  the  Ary- 
ans appeared  solidified  into  the  Monagamian  family, 
the  immediate  predecessor  of  the  modern  family, 
though  it  was  in  the  form  known  as  the  joint-family, 
of  which  we  shall  soon  speak.  We  will  assume,  for 
the  present,  that  the  primitive  home  of  the  Aryans 
was  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Baltic  Sea.     At  an 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  65 

extremely  early  date  migrating  bands  of  Aryans  sal- 
lied out  from  thence  in  search  of  new  homes.  They 
moved  into  Italy  and  Greece,  and  crossed  into  Asia 
Minor.  These  southern-wandering  Aryans  speedily 
came  in  contact  with  the  older  civilization  of  Western 
Asia,  and  they  rapidly  embraced  the  same.  We  will 
not  speak  with  any  degree  of  minuteness  of  these  peo- 
ple, though  it  is  necessary  to  describe  the  joint-family. 
We  have  seen  that  the  ancient  classes,  or  phra- 
tries,  broke  up  into  smaller  bodies,  the  gentes.  As 
the  pairing  family  increased  in  importance,  and  espe- 
cially as  property  increased,  and  the  old  rule  of  de- 
scent was  changed,  and  the  children  were  born  into 
the  gens  of  the  father,  instead  of  the  mother,  the  ten- 
dency was  for  the  gens  itself  to  pass  away  into  what 
may  be  called,  for  convenience,  the  joint-family.  As 
the  gens  was  the  class  in  miniature,  so  the  joint-family 
was  the  gens  in  miniature.  It  was  simply  a  huge  fam- 
ily, in  which  all  the  members  were  descendants  from 
a  common  ancestor.  At  its  head  was  the  house-father 
or  family  chief.  The  property  of  the  family  was  held 
in  common.  The  house-chief,  by  and  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  family  council,  managed  its  property,  and 
represented  it  in  council  of  the  gens.  All  branches  of 
the  Aryan  people  developed  some  form  of  the  joint- 
family.  Among  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  the 
house-chief  appears  as  if  clothed  with  despotic  power; 
in  reality,  however,  his  powers  were  held  in  check  by 
the  family  council. 


66  PRIMITIVE   LIFE. 

Let  us  confine  our  attention  solely  to  the  German 
or  Teutonic  branch  of  the  Aryans.  It  was  late  in 
time  before  the  light  of  history  fell  on  these  people. 
Long  centuries  after  Greece  and  Rome  had  caught 
the  sun-light  from  the  east,  and  were  luxuriating  in 
philosophy,  science  and  art,  the  Germanic  tribes  were 
slowly  advancing  through  the  several  stages  of  bar- 
barism- When  the  expanding  arms  of  Rome  met  the 
advancing  hosts  of  the  Germans,  the  trained  and  dis- 
ciplined warriors  of  the  Mistress  of  the  World  were 
appalled  at  the  savage  vigor  of  the  barbarians. 

Caesar  and  Tacitus  wrote  accounts  of  the  customs 
of  the  Germans.  However,  at  the  time  they  wrote 
their  own  people  had  so  long  left  behind  them  tribal 
customs  that  they  did  not  fairly  understand  or  describe 
the  customs  they  saw.  They  made  somewhat  the 
same  mistake  that  the  early  explorers  in  this  country 
did  who  described  the  customs  of  the  Indians.  How- 
ever, we  have  no  great  trouble  in  understanding  their 
accounts.  That  portion  of  the  Teutonic  people  with 
whom  they  came  in  contact  was  in  a  state  of  migra- 
tion ;  the  pressure  of  population  was  compelling  them 
to  seek  new  homes.  It  may  very  well  be  that  the  vast 
body  of  the  people  themselves,  in  the  deeper  wilds  of 
Germany,  far  beyond  the  ken  of  the  Roman  histo- 
rians, were  already  advanced  to  the  settled  agricultural 
stage  of  tribal  existence. 

The  rise  of  agriculture  marks  a  most  important 
step  in  the  development  of  society.  We  can  see,  from 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  (J7 

the  nature  of  things,  that  people  would  not  commence 
cultivation  of  the  ground  until  considerable  advance 
had  been  made  in  other  directions.     In  most  cases 
they  were  in  possession  of  flocks  and  herds  before 
they  turned   their   attention   to    agriculture.     There 
could  have  been,  however,  no  fixed  rule ;  circumstances 
certainly  altered  cases.     In  our  own  country  there 
were  no  animals  capable  of  being  domesticated  except 
the* Llamas  and  Alpaccas  of  Peru.     Yet  our  northern 
Indians,  at  least  the  more  advanced  tribes,  were  mak- 
ing progress  in  the  cultivation  of  Indian  corn.     Had 
the  Whites  not  arrived  on  the  scene,  they  would  prob- 
ably have  advanced  to  the  stage  of  civilization,  and 
one  of  the   most  powerful  agents   in   this   direction 
'wonld  have  been  the  increasing  knowledge  of  agri- 
culture. 

Large  tracts  in  Asia  are  well  fitted  for  pastoral 
life.     There  the  people  remain  until  this  day,  largely 
in  that  stage  of  development.     But  Egypt  must  have 
been  an  agricultural  land  from  an  extremely  early 
date.     In  Europe,  as  far  back  as  the  Neolithic  age, 
we  know  that  the  inhabitants  practiced  agriculture,' 
raised  wheat,  barley  and  millet,  also  several  varieties 
of  fruit,   such   as   apples   and  pears.     But  he  was  a 
herdsman  as  well.     He  kept  herds  of  oxen,  sheep, 
goats  and  hogs.     We  have  little  doubt,  therefore,  that 
at  the  time  when  the  Roman  historians  came  in  con- 
tact with  migrating  bands  of  Germanic  tribes  the  great 
body  of  them  were  already  in  the  agricultural  stage 
of  tribal  life.  K 


68  PRIMITIVE   LIFE. 

We  have  called  attention  to  the  influence  of  per- 
sonal property  in  hastening  on  civilization.  This  had 
certainly  a  great  influence  in  breaking  down  the  an- 
cient rule  of  descent  changing  from  the  mother's  to 
the  father's  gens.  This  permitted  the  formation  of 
joint-families,  and  the  consequent  dissolving  of  the 
gens.  But  whatever  influence  in  this  direction  we  may 
ascribe  to  the  institution  of  personal  property,  it  was 
but  feeble  compared  to  the  idea  of  property  in  land 
which  originated  as  soon  as  agricultural  knowledge 
was  fully  developed.  The  very  foundation  of  tribal 
society  was  undermined.  Let  us  see  how  this  result 
came  about. 

The  savage  lives  by  the  chase.  It  requires  no 
long  calculation  to  show  that  relatively  a  vast  amount* 
of  territory  is  required  to  keep  him  supplied  with 
game.  In  the  purely  pastoral  stage,  with  flocks  and 
herds,  he  makes  a  more  abundant  living,  with  greater 
ease,  on  a  much  smaller  extent  of  land.  When  agri- 
culture is  reached,  settled  habitations  are  a  necessity ; 
further  land  becomes  valuable,  for  from  a  limited  area 
abundant  supplies  can  be  drawn.  Now  the  territory 
of  a  tribe  becomes  definite.  Its  ownership  is  valuable. 
It  is  marked  off  by  metes  and  bounds.  No  sooner  is 
this  done  than  the  land  itself  becomes  the  basis  of 
kinship.  Government  previously  rested  on  personal 
relations ;  it  now  rests  on  land  as  a  basis.  We  can 
illustrate  these  remarks  by  reference  to  the  customs 
of  the  early  Teutonic  tribes,  as  they  have  been  gath- 
ered by  historians. 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  69 

The  territory  of  the  tribe  was  called  various 
names,  but  the  word  Gau  is  perhaps  the  most  com- 
mon one,  though  the  word  Pagus  is  also  common. 
Each  tribe  was  independent  in  its  own  territory,  and 
in  its  own  affairs.  At  the  head  of  each  tribe  was  the 
tribal  chief,  called  generally  the  Ealderman.  In  times 
of  war,  as  leader  of  the  forces,  he  was  the  Heretoga, 
which  in  a  later  form  is  the  familiar  Herzog.  One 
title  by  which  the  tribal  chief  was  known  was  the 
Gaugraf,  from  which  our  word  count  has  descended, 
"Each  tribe,"  says  Mr.  Freeman,  "was  a  distinct 
commonwealth ;  its  union  with  other  tribes  was  tem- 
porarary,  or  at  the  most  federal;  each  had  its  own 
chief,  its  own  Ealderman  or  Heretoga,  whose  rule  in 
ordinary  times  did  not  extend  beyond  his  own  tribe, 
though  in  times  of  danger  a  common  Heretoga — the 
germ  of  the  future  King — might  be  chosen  to  lead 
the  common  forces  of  all  the  tribes  which  acknowl- 
edged any  common  tie." 

The  first  subdivivision  of  the  gau,  or  tribal  terri- 
tory, was  the  hundreds,  but  this  division,  like  the 
phratries  from  which  it  preceded,  was  of  but  little  im- 
portance. We  can  still  detect  its  presence  in  early 
Teutonic  institutions ;  we  know  the  title  of  its  chief, 
the  Hundreds-ealdor,  and  many  curious  survivals  of 
its  ancient  court  have  been  collected  by  Mr.  Goome. 
Prof.  Stubbs  has  pointed  out  how  at  a  very  early  time 
it  had  begun  to  decay,  consequently  about  all  we  can 
find  of  this  division  in  early  English  history,  or  early 


70  PRIMITIVE   LIFE. 

German  history  either,  are  survivals.  We  have  set 
forth  what  seems  to  us  the  reason  for  such  a  state  of 
affairs. 

Finally  we  have  the  gens,  under  various  names, 
such  as  the  Mark,  the  Gemeinde,  or  the  Commune. 
This  is  the  property  owning  body.  The  territory 
which  it  held  was  sometimes  of  great  extent.  Some 
of  the  modern  states  of  Europe  have  grown  out  of  old 
marks  as  Australia,  Bavaria,  and  Brandenberg.  The 
gens  chief  or  mark-graf  has  since  became  the  marquis. 
We  must  notice  there  was  not  private  property  in 
land.  The  gens  owned  its  territory  or  mark  in  com- 
mon. The  boundary  of  this  mark  was  indicated  by 
stones,  stakes  or  trees,  planted  with  great  ceremony. 
In  ancient  times  the  inhabitants  of  the  mark  assembled 
once  or  twice  a  year  and  visited  the  boundaries,  if  any 
had  been  overthrown  they  were  restored.  In  latter 
times  this  became  a  religious  ceremony.  A  proces- 
sion went  round  the  fields,  which  were  blessed  by  the 
priest ;  altars  were  erected  near  the  boundary  stones, 
and  mass  was  said.  To  this  day,  in  Bavaria,  children 
are  taken  to  the  boundary  marks  and  there  given  a 
whipping  so  as  to  impress  the  surroundings  on  their 
memory.  A  survival  of  this  strange  custom  in  England 
is  changed  so  as  to  be  more  acceptable  to  the  juvenile 
participants.  Instead  of  being  flogged  themselves, 
they  take  switches  and  belabor  the  boundary  marks. 

Every  family  in  the  ancient  gens  was  entitled  to 
its  proportionate  share  in  the  land.     According  to  an 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  71 

cient  German  ideas,  and  in  fact  according  to  the  ideas 
of  all  primitive  people,  the  right  to  occupy  a  portion 
of  the  public  land  was  an  essential  part  of  his  liberty. 
This  statement  has  a  familiar  sound  to  those  who  are 
acquainted  with  the  writings  of  recent  economists.  A 
large  portion  of  the  territory  of  the  mark  was  not  de- 
voted to  tillage.  It  was  the  common  land,  the  ager 
publicum  of  Rome,  the  foe-land  of  England.  This  was 
given  over  to  pasturage  for  the  flocks.  At  first  only 
a  portion  was  tilled  each  year,  and  then  a  series  of 
years  went  by  before  it  was  again  tilled.  But  circum- 
stances certainly  varied,  the  territory  of  some  gens 
could  have  contained  only  a  small  portion  of  arable 
land,  and  this  of  necessity  must  have  been  given  at 
once  to  tillage.  In  all  cases  increasing  population 
must  sooner  or  later  have  brought  about  such  a  result. 

The  method  of  division  was  quite  simple.  Each 
portion  of  the  land  devoted  to  tillage  was  divided  into 
as  many  portions  as  there  were  joint-families.  The 
chief  only  obtaining  a  larger  portion.  The  peculiar 
method  of  division  will  be  explained  later.  These  por- 
tions were  at  first  drawn  by  lots.  Our  word  lot  mean- 
ing a  portion  of  ground  comes  from  this  practice. 
The  right  to  have  an  equal  portion  with  the  rest  seemed 
so  natural  that  an  express  mention  of  it  was  made  in 
ancient  laws. 

In  process  of  time  when  the  arable  land  was  all 
in  use,  a  method  of  cultivation  sprang  up  in  all  Ger- 
man countries,  and  was  of  very  general  use.     It  is 


72  PRIMITIVE   LIFE. 

known  as  the  Flurzwang,  or  compulsory  rotation. 
The  land  was  divided  into  three  portions,  and  each 
household  had  its  respective  strips  in  each  portion. 
One  portion  each  year  lay  fallow ;  one  was  sown  with 
rye,  and  one  with  oats.  When  the  crops  were  taken 
off  of  one  portion,  it  was  thrown  into  the  common  pas- 
ture field.  One  can  see  that  the  strips  in  each  field 
had  to  be  tilled  at  the  same  time,  devoted  to  the  same 
crops,  and  abandoned  to  pasturage  at  the  same  time, 
hence  the  name  flurzwang.  To  this  day  this  custom 
is  in  use  in  Russia,  and  was,  until  recently,  the  rule  in 
certain  portions  of  Germany. 

Now  a  word  as  to  the  wide  extension  of  these 
customs  in  regard  to  land.  No  people  develop  in  quite 
the  same  way ;  and  yet  primitive  man,  wherever  found, 
reasoned  in  about  the  same  way,  and  developed  his 
social  institutions  on  substantially  the  same  lines.  We 
have  but  lately  discovered  that  the  more  civilized  tribes 
of  ancient  Mexico  were  in  the  first  stage  of  this  agri- 
cultural development.  The  gens  was  a  property  hold- 
ing body  claiming  at  least  possessory  rights  to  a 
certain  tract  of  land,  further  that  this  was  divided  by 
council  of  the  gens  for  individual  cultivation.  And  yet 
there  was  no  such  thing  as  private  property  in  land. 
The  tribes  of  Java  were  found  by  the  Dutch  conquer- 
ors to  have  customs  almost  identical  with  those  we 
have  sketched.  Similarly  in  Africa,  New  Zealand  and 
ancient  Peru.  The  village-communities  in  India,  and 
the  Russian  mir  are  also  excellent  examples  still  in 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  73 

existence,  though  English  law  in  India  has  played  sad 
havoc  with  native  customs.  As  to  early  Europe  gen- 
erally, there  is  no  longer  any  question  as  to  the  general 
accuracy  of  our  sketch.  Examples  thus  widely  scat- 
tered, amongst  the  most  diverse  people,  attest  the  fact 
that  development  everywhere  must  have  proceeded  on 
the  same  general  lines. 

Before  passing  to  England  and  studying  the  de- 
velopment there,  let  us  pause  to  see  where  we  have 
arrived  in  this  research.  We  have  traced  the  growth 
of  society  from  the  communal  band  to  the  developed 
tribal  society,  resting  on  agriculture  as  a  basis ;  we 
have  seen  the  gradual  rise  of  the  modern  family ;  we 
have  seen  that  group  rights  and  wrongs  are  in  the 
process  of  giving  place  to  individual  rights  and  wrongs ; 
we  have  glanced  at  the  slow  rise  of  property,  and  also 
noticed  the  influence  which  this  idea  has  exerted  on 
tribal  customs ;  we  have  seen  that  even  in  its  incipient 
form  it  is  a  powerful  agent  in  advancing  civilization. 
At  the  stage  we  have  now  reached  there  is  indeed  the 
idea  of  property  in  land.  It  is  public  property  and 
every  family  in  the  gens  has  a  right  to  an  equal  por- 
tion of  the  public  land.  There  are  no  privileged 
classes,  equality  is  the  rule.  "  Eternal  vigilance  is 
the  price  of  liberty."  Only  by  slow  degree  does  the 
once  elected  chief  become  the  hereditary  noble.  Only 
gradually  does  he  arrogate  to  himself  the  rights  of  his 
gens  to  the  land,  and  only  by  slow  stages  does  the 
communal  right  give  place  to  private  right. 


76  PRIMITIVE    LIFE. 

But  Green,  Freeman  and  Cunningham  as  strongly 
contend  for  the  view  here  set  forth.  Without  going 
into  detail,  it  is  at  any  rate  clear  that  causes  were  at 
work  among  Germanic  people  that  might  carry  them 
forward  to  the  same  stage  of  development  as  found  in 
England.  Until  shown  to  be  in  error  by  more  decis- 
ive facts  than  have  yet  been  presented,  we  may  regard 
English  civilization  as  a  native  development  of  Teu- 
tonic culture  without  being  greatly  modified  by  the 
Roman  customs  it  overthrew. 

The  German  tribe  or  gau  reappears  in  the  English 
shire,  the  hundreds  have  the  same  name,  and  the  gens 
is  the  early  English  village  community.  For  more  than 
eight  hundred  years,  or  until  near  the  close  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  England  was  a  purely  agricultural 
country.  We  must  recall  that  when  the  German  tribes 
invaded  England  they  were  already  in  the  agricultural 
stage  of  development.  So  the  conquered  lands  of 
England  were  divided  among  the  gentes  of  the  invad- 
ing tribes.  We  must  not  suppose  that  there  was  an 
invariable,  rigid  rule  of  procedure  or  any  nice  propor- 
tions maintained  in  division.  Remember  that  more 
than  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  elapsed  from 
the  landing  of  the  first  German  tribes  to  the  final  bat- 
tle at  Deoram.  Now,  the  stages  of  conquest  must 
have  been  about  as  follows :  Fresh  colonies  of  Teu- 
tonic invaders  would  arrive  on  the  scene  from  time  to 
time ;  or  the  pressure  of  population  in  the  districts  al- 
ready conquered  and  settled  compels  new  bands  to 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  77 

start  from  thence  and  find  new  homes.  Now  such 
bands  would  as  naturally  organize  themselves  in  gentes 
as  settlers  would  nowadays  proceed  to  lay  off  their 
districts  into  townships. 

They  may  make  the  raid  or  conquest  of  some 
fertile  section  under  the  leadership  of  some  famous  old 
Ealdorman.  The  conquest  achieved,  the  bands,  if  not 
already  organized  in  gentes,  naturally  fall  apart  in 
such  groups.  They  choose  their  chiefs,  and  are  as- 
signed, or  choose,  some  section  of  the  conquered  ter- 
ritory as  their  own  particular  mark,  or  gemeinde,  and, 
settling  down,  form  a  village  community.  But  this 
"settling  down"  means  a  good  deal  more  than  it  does 
among  us  to-day,  for  the  gens  itself  is  the  land-hold- 
ing body ;  to  be  a  member  of  that  gens  was  to  have  a 
right  to  a  share  in  the  annual  allotments.  This  right 
would  of  course  be  lost  by  abandoning  the  village^ 
but  further  no  new  rights  could  be  acquired  by  joining 
another  gens.  Such  rights  as  these  could  not  be  ob- 
tained save  by  birth. 

Late  in  the  sixth  century  of  our  era,  then,  Eng- 
land proper  was  settled  by  people  living  in  tribal  so- 
ciety, but  in  the  advanced  agricultural  stage,  in  which 
the  gens  is  the  village  community,  owning  its  own 
land,  all  the  members  of  the  gens  having  equal  rights 
in  the  division  of  the  land.  We  have  no  reasonable 
doubt  of  the  general  truth  of  the  outline  we  have 
sketched,  though  unfortunately  we  have  no  records  of 
life  and  times  written  by  men  then  living.  But  amongst 


78  PRIMITIVE    LIFE. 

all  Aryan  people  we  find  the  clearest  traces  of  just 
such  a  social  institution  as  here  pointed  out ;  and  fur- 
ther we  know  that  when,  some  centuries  later,  the 
darkness  hanging  over  social  life  in  England  begins  to 
disappear,  we  find  just  such  communities,  modified  as 
we  would  expect  them  to  be  in  the  lapse  of  time.  We 
have  a  fairly  clear  idea  of  the  greater  historical  move- 
ments on  the  surface.  We  know  that  the  various 
tribes  gradually  coalesced  into  seven  small  kingdoms, 
from  which  finally  developed  the  English  nation,  in 
627,  with  Egbert  as  the  first  king.  What  we  are  con- 
lcerned  with,  however,  is  the  development  of  its  socia 
life  and  not  its  political  history. 

We  must  turn  our  attention  more  particularly 
now  to  the  village  communities.  This  is  the  social 
unit,  to  understand  which  is  to  understand  the  social 
life  of  the  times.  Such  communities  varied  in  size  and 
in  population.  The  territory  they  held  consisted  of 
two  portions,  waste  land  and  arable  land.  By  waste 
land,  however,  we  are  not  to  understand  land  incapa- 
ble of  cultivation,  but  timber  land,  pasture  land,  or 
even  land  in  every  way  suitable  for  tillage,  but  which 
was  not  employed  for  that  purpose.  The  arable  land 
was  that  portion  set  apart  for  cultivation,  generally 
under  the  three  field  system  or  flurzwang  we  men- 
tioned above.  A  portion  of  their  land  depending  on 
natural  causes  was  set  apart  as  the  permanent  meadow 
land  of  the  community.  If  a  community  owned  a 
number  of  thousand  acres  suitable  for  cultivation,  but 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  79 

only  needed  to  cultivate  one  thousand  acres,  we  can 
see  that  they  could,  if  they  desired,  after  cultivating  a 
tract  for  a  few  years,  select  some  other  body  of  land 
for  cultivation,  and  let  the  old  portion  lie  fallow. 

Such  a  method  was  called  extensive  tillage.  But 
practically  the  best  portion  of  land  was  permanently 
devoted  to  tillage,  and  the  rest  was  included  in  the 
common  waste  and  used  for  pasturage.  Ample  waste 
was  a  sign  of  village  prosperity.  The  forests  afforded 
plentiful  supplies  of  fuel,  as  well  as  feeding  ground 
for  the  herds  of  swine  which  the  village  swine-herd 
guarded.  Oxen  and  sheep  thrived  on  the  common 
pasturage.  If  population  increased,  other  portions 
could  be  devoted  to  tillage.  We  must  not  not  picture 
to  ourselves  any  very  scientific  cultivation.  The  cere- 
als raised  were  but  few — wheat,  rye  and  oats;  there 
were  no  root  crops  raised.  Of  animals,  they  kept 
hogs,  cattle  and  sheep.  England  was  famous  for  its 
wool,  which  was  largely  exported.  Though  they  had 
horses,  still  oxen  were  used  for  plowing. 

Now  let  us  glance  to  the  village.  There  was  a 
village  street,  along  each  side  of  which  were  the 
houses  of  the  cultivators.  The  houses  were  but  rude 
affairs.  The  living  room  in  a  house  was  the  hall,  with 
a  fire  in  the  center,  the  smoke  escaping  through  the 
roof  as  best  it  could.  Around  the  hall  were  chambers. 
The  rough  board  set  up  on  trestles  formed  the  table 
where  the  family  gathered  to  eat  in  the  hall.  When 
the  board  was  cleared  away,  the  house-father  and  his 


80  PEIMITIVE    LIFE. 

friends,  with  their  drinking  horns  in  hand,  seated  them- 
selves on  benches  ranged  around  the  room,  while  the 
gleeman  sang  his  songs,  or  the  harp  was  passed 
around  from  hand  to  hand.  Finally  the  hall  was  the 
common  sleeping  room,  where  the  men  slept  on  bun- 
dles of  straw  strewn  on  the  floor.  Around  each  house 
there  was  a  little  inclosure  or  yard,  enough  to  furnish 
a  garden,  to  raise  a  little  flax  and  to  keep  such  stock 
as  calves,  for  instance,  requiring  especial  care.  An 
individual  possessing  one  of  these  homesteads,  and 
having  a  right  to  his  share  of  the  common,  might  be 
designated  in  various  ways.  As  distinguished  from 
the  chiefs,  he  was  a  ceorl,  or  freeman.  He  was  the 
" weaponed man,"  who  bore  spear  and  sword;  so  he 
was  said  to  be  schild-burtig ;  born  to  the  shild.  He 
was  said  to  be  "free-necked-tnan'' — that  is,  did  not  lay 
his  neck  to  a  lord,  and  as  a  sign  of  his  freedom  he  let 
his  hair  grow  long  and  float  about  his  neck.  In  full 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  theoretically  they  were  all 
of  the  same  gens,  consequently  blood  relatives,  they 
were  called  geneats  or  geburs,  the  co-born.  In  later 
Norman  times  they  were  collectively  known  as  the  vil- 
lagers, or  villani.  In  parts  of  England,  as  being  at 
the  head  of  a  family,  they  were  known  simply  as  hus 
bands.  To  describe  such  a  collection  of  houses  they 
did  not  have  our  word  village.  The  native  word  was 
Tun,  meaning  properly  an  inclosed  space.  But  to 
distinguish  one  from  another  the  name  of  the  gens 
was  prefixed.     Thus  the  village  of  the  Harlings  be- 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  81 

came  Harlingtun.  The  tun  properly  meant  an  inclos- 
ure,  and  this  brings  to  mind  the  great  fact  that  in  the 
first  stage  the  village  was  surrounded  by  a  mound, 
tipped  with  a  stockade  or  quick-set  hedge,  as  well  as 
defended  by  a  ditch.  Another  word  for  the  village 
was  heim,  the  home.  In  this  way  the  home  of  the 
Billings  became  Billingham.  Within  the  inclosed  tun 
were  ranged,  as  we  have  stated,  the  houses  of  the  vil- 
lagers. Somewhere  near  the  center  of  the  village  was 
the  tree  or  mound  where  the  tun-moot,  or  village  coun- 
cil, was  held.  In  proximity  to  the  village  were  the 
cultivated  fields,  and  surrounding  all  was  the  common 
waste. 

It  is  further  of  interest  to  know  how  the  common 
land  was  divided  for  the  purpose  of  cultivation.  We 
will  suppose  a  group  of  say  forty-eight  real  or  sup- 
posed kinsmen,  organized  as  a  gens,  had  come  into 
the  possessions  of  a  tract  of  land,  consisting  of  say, 
five  thousand  acres.  We  are  not  to  suppose  there 
was  any  nice  proportion  between  the  size  of  the  tract 
and  the  number  of  people  in  the  band.  One  of  thirty 
people  might  have  owned  a  larger  tract.  This  tract 
was  denned  by  metes  and  bounds,  which  were  jeal- 
ously gaurded.  In  examining  their  tract  they  found 
near  the  center  of  it  a  fertile  section  suitable  for  culti- 
vation, embracing  we  will  say  nearly  fifteen  hundred 
acres.  After  making  their  settlement  this  arable 
tract  would  be  divided  into  three  fields  or  portions, 
and  from  henceforth,  two  of  these  fields  would  be 


82  PRIMITIVE   LIFE. 

under  cultivation  each  year,  while  the  third  one  lay 
fallow.  This  statement  must  be  taken  with  the  under- 
standing that  in  the  earlier  stages,  or  when  the  com- 
munal tract  was  very  large,  the  whole  field  of  cultiva- 
tion might  shift  about.  After  cultivating  one  tract  for 
a  lew  years  they  might  select  another  portion  to  di- 
vide into  the  three  fields  and  begin  anew. 

But  now  how  was  each  household's  rights  to  these 
three  fields  ascertained?  The  modern  way  would  be 
to  give  each  family  a  tract  of  about  ten  acres  in  each 
field.  That,  however,  was  not  the  primitive  way. 
That  would  be  too  much  like  private  ownership  of 
which  they  had  no  idea.  But  the  wants  and  enlight- 
enment of  the  times  gave  them  a  method  of  procedure. 
The  plow  by  which  the  fields  were  tilled  was  an  ex- 
tremely cumbersome  thing.  As  a  rule,  which  became 
the  general  custom,  it  was  drawn  by  eight  oxen,  four 
teams  or  oxgangs,  as  they  were  called  in  some  parts. 
Extracts  from  ancient  laws  from  widely  different 
sources,  show  that  this  was  the  normal  plow-team. 
Now  each  gebur  was  expected  to  own  at  least  two 
oxen,  or  do  some  service  to  make  up  for  the  lack  of 
oxen.  He  might  be  the  priest,  or  village  smith,  or 
plowman.  But  the  land  that  this  team  of  four  oxgangs 
plowed,  or  four  families  cultivated,  was  known  as  a 
hide  of  land.  This  was  a  very  general  expression  of 
measure,  though  other  words  were  used  such  as  plow 
land,  which  later  word  in  Norman  times  was  translated 
into  Latin  as  carucate. 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  83 

When  the  time  came  to  plow,  the  teams. were 
driven  to  the  fields,  and  hitched  four  abreast  to  the 
plows.  Now  the  village  foreman  lays  out  the  days 
work  for  each  team.  This  amount  of  course  varied  in 
different  localities,  according  to  the  soil.  In  Germany 
such  strips,  the  plowing  of  one  day,  were  called  umor- 
gens,"  in  Wales  they  were  called  cyvars  or  co-plowings. 
In  England  they  were  called  ackers  or  simply  plowed 
strips  from  which  our  own  acre  has  come.  Each  team 
was  expected  to  plow  an  acre  a  day.  The  method  of 
marking  it  off  was  as  follows ;  The  foreman  cut  a  rod, 
this  was  in  ancient  Wales,  equal  in  length  to  the  long 
yoke  used  in  plowing.  Probably  some  such  simple 
unit  as  this  was  the  base  of  measurement  in  all  primi- 
tive customs,  however,  in  process  of  time,  this  rod 
came  generally  to  have  a  length  of  sixteen  and  a  half 
feet.  The  width  of  each  strip  of  the  day's  plowing 
was  four  falls  of  the  rod,  the  length  was  ten  times  the 
width  or  forty  rods,  this  was  called  a  furrow-long.  In 
passing  we  might  call  the  readers  attention  to  the  fact 
that  here  is  the  old  table :  Forty  rods  make  one  furlong 
still,  as  also  four  roods  make  one  acre. 

These  strips  containing  each  a  day's  stint  in  plow- 
ing did  not  join  each  other,  a  little  strip  of  land  two 
or  three  feet  wide  was  left  unplowed  between  each 
strip.  In  the  case  we  are  supposing  there  would  be 
say  twelve  full  teams,  at  the  end  of  the  day's  work 
twelve  of  these  acre  strips  would  be  plowed,  ranging 
side  by  side.     The  next  day  there  would  be  twelve 

6 


84  PRIMITIVE    LIFE. 

• 

more  acre  strips  plowed,  but  the  strips  might  not  be 
parallel  to  those  of  the  first  day's  work,  they  might  be 
at  right  angles  to  them.     It  would  take  forty  days  for 
them  to  plow  the  common  field  of  about  four  hundred 
and  eighty  acres.    We  have  seen  that  four  households 
united  their  teams  for  plowing.     There  were  various 
rules  for  apportioning  the  acre  strips  plowed  by  each 
team  among  the  four  families  furnishing  the  team. 
For  instance,  the  first  acre  plowed  might  go  to  the 
plowman,  the  second  to  the  driver,  the  third  to  the 
owner  of  he  outside  sward  ox,  etc.     In  this  particular 
case  we  are  giving  the  exact  rules  in  force  in  ancient 
Wales,  but  customs  varied.     All  we  need  say  is  that 
some  well  known  rule  was  in  force.    But  notice  in  this 
case,  if  the  plowman  had  set  aside  for  him  one  acre 
strip  he  plowed  one  day,  it  would  be  some  days  before 
he  would  plow  another   strip   falling  to  his  portion. 
Whatever  the  rule  of  division  was  we  know  the  very 
general  custom  was  to  give  to  each  gebur  ten  strips 
in  each  field.     So  at  the  end  of  the  plowing,  the  plow- 
man would  have  ten  acre-strips  scattered  around  in 
various  portions   of  the  common  field.      The  same 
would  be  true  of  the  land  of  each  gebur  who  joined 
with  him  for  work. 

It  follows  that  each  hide  of  land  was  made  up  of 
scattered  acre-strips.  Each  gebur  had  ten  of  these 
acre-strips  in  each  field.  And  as  there  were  three 
fields,  his  portion  would  be  thirty  acres.  But  notice, 
we  are  not  dealing  with  private  ownership.     He  had 


PRIMITIYE    LIFE.  85 

simply  a  right  to  work  a  portion  of  the  common  field. 
Various  names  for  this  land  were  used.  As  referring 
to  the  oxen  who  plowed  it,  it  was  in  some  sections 
known  as  two-oxen  land  or  two  bovates ;  or,  as  we  have 
seen  it  was  measured  out  by  rods,  or  as  they  called 
them  gyrds,  a  general  name  for  it  was  a  gyrdland, 
which  later  was  known  as  a  yard-land,  or  in  Norman 
times  a  virgate. 

It  is  perhaps  needless  to  add  that  each  village  was 
an  isolated  one.  The  very  life  of  modern  times  is  its 
inter-connection.  One  section  depends  on  another. 
During  the  first  thousand  years  of  our  era  the  case 
was  totally  different.  Each  community  lived  an  inde- 
pendent life.  There  was  no  buying  or  selling  between 
its  members.  The  women  of  the  households  wove  the 
coarse  woolen  and  linen  cloth.  The  men  tanned  their 
own  leather.  The  village  blacksmith  kept  in  repair 
the  irons  for  the  plow,  and  in  payment  for  his  services 
his  virgate  was  worked  by  the  other  villagers.  The 
same  was  true  of  the  village  carpenter  and  pound- 
keeper.  Lower  in  the  scale  we  find  ancient  laws  pro- 
viding that  each  gebur  should  furnish  six  loaves  of 
bread  for  the  support  of  the  village  swine-herd.  In 
those  days  there  were  comparatively  few  public  high- 
ways, and  they  were  wretchedly  kept.  Yet  the  repair 
of  high-ways  was  esteemed  such  a  meritorious  thing, 
that  the  clergy  sometimes  remitted  temporal  penalties 
for  sins  on  condition  that  the  penitents  should  perform 
such  a  service. 


86  PRIMITIVE    LIFE. 

In  the  matter  of  trade,  there  was  very  little  done. 
Some  articles  such  as  salt  had  to  be  procured  from  one 
or  two  sources.  The  great  article  of  export  was  wool. 
Traders  visited  the  fairs  held  at  various  parts  and  ex- 
changed the  wares  from  abroad  for  the  wool.  Although 
they  had  coined  money,  yet  a  very  small  supply  was 
needed  ;  since  most  of  the  trading  was  conducted  by 
means  of  barter.  The  traders  or  chap-men  going  from 
village  to  village  were  exposed  to  great  dangers,  for 
they  were  strangers,  and  strangers  had  no  rights.  It 
is  interesting  to  notice  some  of  the  early  laws  in  this 
connection.  At  the  present  day  if  we  detect  an  un- 
known man  stealthily  coming  into  our  houses  at  night, 
we  are  justified  in  shooting  him.  One  of  the  laws  of 
King  Ihne,  about  700  A.  D.,  ordains  that  "If  a  far- 
coming  man  journey  through  a  wood  out  of  the  high- 
way, and  neither  shout  nor  blow  his  horn,  he  is  to  be 
held  as  a  thief,  and  either  slain  or  redeemed."  These 
chap-men  were  required  to  do  their  trading  before  wit- 
nesses so  that  they  might  prove  their  innocence  when 
accused  of  theft.  Alfred,  in  order  to  prevent  crime, 
orders  that  the  chap-men  should  put  on  record  at  the 
folk-moot,  (shire  or  tribal  court),  what  men  he  intend- 
ed to  take  with  him,  and  to  declare  it  when  he  had 
need  of  more.  It  is  evident  that  trade  was  not  very 
flourishing.  Properly  speaking,  capital  did  not  as  yet 
exist. 

In  a  few  short  lines  we  can  dismiss  the  political 
life  of  the  primitive  times.     We  must  not  think  we  are 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  87 

dealing  with  simple  peasant  farmers.  The  early  Sax- 
ons were  fierce  warriors  and  pirates  as  well  as  agri- 
culturalists. Of  some  tribes  we  know  that  while  a  part 
of  their  number  staid  at  home  and  cultivated  the 
ground  for  all,  the  other  portion  were  doing  duty  as 
warriors.  Each  tun  or  heim  sent  its  quota  to  the  war 
force  of  the  tribe.  In  times  of  war  a  special  war-chief, 
the  Heretoga  was  chosen. 

We  have  thus  far  been  sketching  what  might  be 
called  the  normal  village  community.  A  more  serious 
task  is  now  before  us,  to  show  how  inequalities  arose, 
to  show  how  land  became  private  property,  how  the 
old  village  communities  gave  place  to  the  manor,  with 
its  land-holding  lord,  how  the  great  mass  of  people, 
dispossessed  of  their  land  and  ancient  privileges,  be- 
came simply  wage  earners,  how  capital  commenced  to 
play  its  important  role,  and  how  the  glory  and  misery 
of  the  present  industrial  system  became  possible.  An 
extensive  subject  of  inquiry,  truly,  but  we  shall  be  as 
concise  as  possible. 

In  the  primitive  German  communities,  there  was 
perfect  equality.  But  before  the  invasion  of  Britain, 
there  had  been  formed  a  class  of  nobility.  The  Ath- 
ling  or  earl  as  distinguished  from  the  Ceorl.  He  was 
the  chief  of  primitive  times.  In  the  first  instance,  he 
was  elected.  On  his  death,  his  son  might  or  might 
not  be  elected  in  his  place.  Other  things  being  equal 
he  would  have  the  preference.  In  course  of  time,  he 
came  to  look  upon  this  as  his  right.     Acquiescence  in 


88  PRIMITIVE    LIFE. 

this  claim  on  the  part  of  the  people  generally  gave  rise 
in  process  of  time  to  hereditary  chiefs.  The  mischief 
was  done.  The  rights  of  the  Athling  would  increase 
from  this  time  on,  just  as  those  of  the  mass  of  the 
people  would  decrease.  It  is  somewhat  interesting  to 
observe  that  Caesar  noticed  in  his  day  that  while  the 
office  of  civil  chief  passed  by  inheritance,  yet  when  it 
come  to  choosing  the  war  chief,  the  people  still  elected 
him.  The  reason  is  plain.  The  son  might  be  abun- 
dantly able  to  fill  his  father's  place  as  civil  chief,  the 
official  head  of  the  people.  He  might  not,  however, 
be  a  good  warrior. 

But  another  cause  still  was  at  work,  depending 
on  the  development  of  civilization.  In  savage  tribes 
the  warriors  are  accustomed  to  form  in  bands  under 
the  guidance  of  some  successful  warrior.  This  same 
principal  was  at  work  among  the  Germanic  people. 
Ambitious  leaders  would  gather  around  them,  bands 
of  people  conquer  a  new  home,  form  a  new  settlement, 
the  successful  leader  becoming  the  Athling.  Then 
again,  we  know  as  a  matter  of  history,  that  the  Saxon 
tribes  in  England  early  united  in  seven  kingdoms. 
That  is  to  say,  the  tribes  united  themselves  in  seven 
groups  for  a  conquest  or  protection,  the  common  war- 
chief  becoming  the  king.  He  also  gathers  around  him 
his  band  of  warriors.  They  become  his  thanes  and 
thus  a  new  order  of  nobility  arises. 

In  the  matter  of  land  we  can  quite  easily  under- 
stand the  changes  that  took  place  as  time  passed  on. 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  89 

At  first  it  is  not  supposed  that  the  chief's  portion  was 
set  out  for  him  in  any  different  way  than  that  of  the 
people  generally.  He  had  his  acre-strip  along  with 
the  rest.  But  owing  to  the  office  he  filled,  and  the 
dignity  of  his  station,  he  probably  had  a  more  gener- 
ous allowance  and  it  was  worked  for  him  by  the  peo- 
ple generally.  But  the  community  laid  claim  to  quite 
an  extensive  section  of  country.  He,  as  official  head 
of  the  community,  had  to  assert  the  claims  of  his  peo- 
ple to  that  territory,  it  was  his  duty  to  see  that  the 
boundary  marks  were  preserved.  It  was  not  strange 
if  when  his  office  became  hereditary  he  gradually  came 
to  consider  himself  in  some  sense  the  owner  of  the 
waste  land  of  the  community. 

This  feeling  could  not  fail  to  be  strengthened  by 
the  growth  of  the  power  of  kings.  Not  only  did  the 
community  have  waste  land,  but  the  tribe  had  great 
tracts  of  land,  not  assigned  to  any  village  community. 
Not  only  did  the  tribe  have  unassigned  land,  but  in 
the  kingdom  there  was  land  not  claimed  by  any  tribe. 
As  late  as  the  days  of  King  Alfred,  we  know  this  was 
the  condition  of  England.  Just  as  the  village  chief 
came  to  exercise  rights  over  the  common  land  of  the 
village,  so  did  the  king  claim  a  right  in  the  public  land 
of  the  kingdom.  So  he  would  award  his  more  influen- 
tial followers,  his  thanes,  by  grants  of  estates.  At  first 
this  was  supposed  to  be  done  only  by  and  with  the 
consent  of  the  national  parliament,  the  witan,  but 
gradually  this  condition  was  dispensed  with. 


90  PRIMITIVE    LIFE. 

The  thane,  when  granted  an  estate,  of  course 
considered  it  as  his  property,  subject  only  to  military 
duty  or  some  trifling  rent  to  the  king.  But  in  cultiva- 
ting his  land  he  could  only  follow  the  general  customs 
of  the  country.  He  would  have  to  procure  a  band  of 
followers,  set  aside  an  arable  tract  for  them  to  culti- 
vate in  common,  after  their  immemorial  customs,  grant 
them  right  of  common  in  the  general  waste  and  have 
his  own  portion  tilled  by  the  labor  of  the  community. 
Other  grants  made  by  the  king  were  to  religious 
houses,  that  is  to  monasteries.  Great  estates  would 
be  granted  to  them  on  condition  that  masses  be  said 
for  the  soul  of  the  grantor. 

In  the  meantime  a  change  was  slowly  being  ef- 
fected in  the  distribution  of  the  land.  In  the  earlier 
stages,  the  wants  of  new  households  could  be  provided 
for  by  putting  more  land  to  tillage,  but  the  time  all 
too  quickly  arrived  when  there  could  be  no  more  fami- 
lies provided  for,  or  we  can  see  that  when  once  the 
noble  claimed  and  was  allowed  ownership  in  the  land, 
he  would  object  to  other  families  being  admitted  to  a 
share  in  the  common  right.  So  from  year  to  year  the 
same  households  were  allowed  the  same  acre  strips 
scattered  around  in  the  common  fields.  The  next 
step  was  for  them  to  believe  that  they  owned  in  private 
ownership  the  yard-land  or  virgate,  composed  as  it 
was  of  these  several  strips.  Thus  the  beginning  of 
private  property  in  land.  The  memory  of  the  older 
state  of  affairs  was  still  retained.     If  he  wanted  to  sell 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  ,  91 

his  possession,  consent  must  still  be  obtained  from  the 
lord.  There  was  a  time  once  when  the  community 
worked  the  land  of  the  war-chief  who  watched  over 
the  common  interests  of  all.  This  was  now  exchanged 
for  a  certain  amount  of  work  done  for  the  lord  on  his 
land.  Further  we  can  see  how  there  might  arise  a 
class  of  citizens  for  whom  there  might  be  no  more 
arable  land  to  divide,  but  who  might  possess  a  house, 
do  work  on  the  lord's  land,  and  have  some  rights  in 
the  common  pasturage.  One  point  more  must  be  no- 
ticed, amongst  all  people  in  a  tribal  state  of  society, 
from  various  causes,  people  become  outcasts  and  loose 
all  connections  with  a  gens,  this  means  a  loss  of  all 
rights  which  such  relations  usually  carried  with  them, 
consequently  all  rights  to  a  portion  of  the  village  land. 
But  it  would  not  do  to  let  them  starve,  or  to  be  forced 
into  crime  by  dire  necessity..  So  the  village  chief  as- 
signs them  land  and  provides  them  with  means  of 
cultivation.  They  become  literally  slaves  to  him,  In 
a  great  many  ways  the  number  of  such  slaves  or  serfs 
could  be  increased,  for  it  was  an  age  that  believed 
in  the  right  of  man  to  enslave  his  fellow  men.  In  fact 
the  whole  mass  of  the  people  had  gradually  become 
enslaved.  In  an  earlier  age  we  have  seen  that  one 
family  could  not  remove  from  one  village  community 
to  another,  any  more  than  in  a  tribal  state  of  society, 
a  people  could  go  from  one  gens  to  another.  In  a 
long  course  of  years  this  grew  into  a  fixed  custom. 
The  village  of  once  free  Saxons  who  scorned  to  bow 


92  PRIMITIVE   LIFE. 

the  neck  to  any  lord  found  themselves  together  with 
their  land,  more  or  less  the  property  of  the  old  chief, 
who  has  now  become  a  noble  lord. 

Finally  there  came  the  Norman  conquest  solidi- 
fying the  changes  made.  This  introduces  us  to  the 
English  Manor.  Before  explaining  more  particularly 
in  reference  to  that  system,  it  is  well  to  explain  that  a 
number  of  writers  would  disagree  with  us  as  to  the 
origin  of  the  manor  system.  They  think  that  it  is  the 
direct  descendant  of  the  Roman  Villa.  However,  a 
more  numerous  body  will  sustain  the  views  here  set 
forth.  So  we  may  for  the  present  conclude  that  the 
English  Manor  is  the  form  finally  assumed  by  tb~ 
free  English  village  communities,  impelled  to  that  end 
by  many  causes,  such  as  neglect  to  assert  their  own 
rights  on  the  part  of  the  community  at  large,  the  ac- 
quiescing in  the  agressive  claims  of  the  chiefs,  the 
growth  of  kingships,  the  neglect  to  assert  their  rights 
to  the  public  lands,  allowing  the  king  to  dispose  of  it 
to  his  favorites  and  to  the*  church,  and  actually  allow- 
ing themselves  to  fall  into  a  species  of  servitude  more 
or  less  distinct  to  their  chief.  Of  course  this  degree 
of  dependence  would  vary  greatly.  In  some  instances 
it  never  did  take  place,  since  we  saw  evidences  of  free 
village  communities,  even  at  the  time  of  the  conquest, 
and  in  one  case,  at  a  far  later  date,  we  have  preserved 
evidence  of  the  lord's  attempt  to  fasten  his  claim  on  a 
manor,  but  without  success. 

If  we  now  pause  for  a  moment,  we  will  see  we 


PRIMITIVE    LIFE.  93 

have  reached  quite  an  important  point  in  the  develop- 
ment of  industrial  life  in  England.  We  have  given 
an  outline  of  the  slow  development  of  tribal  society, 
we  have  confined  our  attention  to  the  Saxon  tribes, 
and  seen  the  origin  of  village  communities.  Their 
customs  are  easily  explainable  when  we  see  the  organi- 
zation from  which  they  sprung.  Society  apparently 
was  not  sufficiently  advanced  to  maintain  the  equality 
and  fraternity  of  the  times.  Hence  the  rise  of  privi- 
leged classes,  while  the  mass  of  people  sink  into  a 
more  or  less  dependent  state.  We  have  now  to  trace 
the  gradual  rise  of  the  various  industrial  arts,  the  rapid 
expansion  of  commerce,  and  the  efforts  of  the  people 
to  do  away  with  the  distinction  into  classes  which  their 
own  negligence  had  allowed  to  grow  up.  But  we  shall 
also  see  introduced  into  the  problem  an  element  that 
more  primitive  times  did  not  have  to  take  into  consider- 
ation. That  is  the  rise  and  portentious  growth  of 
capital.  If  private  property  has  been  one  of  the  most 
powerful  agents  in  advancing  mankind  in  civilization, 
it  is  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most  alarming  dangers 
ahead  of  us. 

As  far  as  we  have  gone,  we  can  safely  assert  that 
society  has  passed  through  several  stages  of  growth. 
There  are  no  natural  rights  of  man.  How  men  shall 
be  joined  together  for  government,  how  property  shall 
be  distributed,  what  claims  individuals  have  on  the 
community,  or  the  community  on  the  individual,  vary 
at  different  stages  of  growth. 


94 


VLLLANAGE. 


C^PTEK  111. 

VILLANAGE. 

Introduction  of  Feudalism — The  Doomsday  Survey — The 
condition  of  a  Villan — His  duties — His  relations  to  the  Lord — The 
Cotters — Slaves — Socmen — Free  Tenants — Officials  of  a  Manor — 
Population  of  England  in  the  11th  Century — Commutation  of  Vil- 
lan obligations — A  new  Legal  Theory — Outbreak  of  the  plague — 
Scarcity  of  Laborers — Statute  of  Laborers — Combination — Tyler's 
Insurrection — Condition  of  England  in  the  15th  Century — The 
Golden  Age  of  Laborers — Inclosures — Sheep  Husbandry — Bacon's 
Description  of  the  Evil — Condition  of  England  in  the  16th  Century 
MSSSSQ    ^g^   — Decay  of  the  Yeomanry — Conclusion. 


ENGLISH  Manor,  in  all  its  distinctive 
features,  was  in  existence  before 
William  the  Norman  overthrew  the 
forces  of  .  Harold  in  the  battle  of 
Hastings.  What  the  Normans  did 
was  but  to  apply  Norman  names  to  insti- 
tutions they  found  in  vogue.  Or  at  most, 
they  simply  emphasized  the  changes  which  had  already 
taken  place.  The  state  of  society  we  have  described, 
composed  of  persons  possessing  various  degrees  of 
freedom,  or  living  in  various  stations  which  generally 
carried  with  them  a  claim  to  a  portion  of  land,  consti- 
tuted a  feudal  system.     The  Normans  no  more  intro- 


VILLANAGE.  97 

duced  feudalism  into  England  than  they  introduced 
the  manors.  The  king  more  sharply  asserted  his 
right  to  the  public  land,  he  brooked  no  rebellion,  the 
nobles  all  had  to  acknowledge  that  he  was  supreme ; 
while  his  own  followers  were  granted  vast  estates,  from 
which,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  the  original  lords 
were  driven  to  make  room  for  the  victors.  But  feud- 
alism itself  had  been  slowly  growing  in  England  for 
some  centuries. 

We  have  now  reached  the  time  of  the  great 
Doomsday  Survey.  This  survey  was  in  the  nature  of 
a  census.  William  sent  out  commissioners  to  gather  full 
details  of  the  various  manors ;  the  amount  of  culti- 
vated land,  the  number  of  villages,  the  terms  on  which 
they  held  their  land.  It  follows  as  a  matter  of  course, 
that  in  this  important  work  most  valuable  details  can 
be  gathered  as  to  the  customs  of  the  day.  We  are 
therefore  able  to  set  forth  with  all  needed  accuracy 
the  customs  of  an  English  manor  of  the  eleventh  cent- 
ury. It  is  well  to  examine  this  account  particularly 
as  it  will  show  us  the  stage  of  development  reached  at 
that  time  by  the  old  village  community.  The  noble  or 
the  lord,  now  claimed  the  ownership  over  all  the  land 
of  the  community.  This  land  was  divided  into  two 
portions,  the  Desmene  or  inland  was  that  portion  cul- 
tivated for  the  benefit  of  the  lord.  It  consisted  partly 
of  separate  fields,  and  partly  of  acre-strips  in  the  com- 
mon fields.  The  latter  portion  reminds  us  of  the  time 
when  the  chiefs  portion  was  the  same  as  that  of  his 


98  VILLANAGE. 

fellow  villagers.  The  larger  portion  of  the  arable  land 
formed  the  common  fields  of  the  village,  the  geburs 
were  now  called  villans,  and  were  said  to  hold  their 
land  of  the  lord  in  villanage.  Then  there  was  the 
commons,  the  old  waste  lands  of  the  community,  now 
recognized  as  the  lord's  waste,  though  the  villans  had 
rights  of  pasturage  and  other  common  rights. 

The  villans  had  long  lost  a  considerable  portion 
of  their  freedom.  However,  their  rights  and  disabili- 
ties were  rigidly  fixed  by  immemorial  custom,  which 
varied  on  the  different  manors.  In  each  manor  what 
customs  it  had  long  acquisesced  in  were  binding.  It 
is  more  than  probable  that  the  early  law  writers  of 
England  have  represented  the  powers  of  the  lord  as 
greater  than  they  really  were,  for  he  also  was  governed 
by  custom.  If  the  villans  were,  as  it  was  said,  tied  to 
the  land,  the  land  was  also  tied  to  them.  Each  villan, 
as  a  rule,  had  a  right  to  work  thirty  acre-strips  scat- 
tered around  in  the  village  fields,  but  he  could  not  sell 
this  right  without  the  lord's  consent.  He  could  not 
leave  the  manor  without  the  lord's  consent.  The 
simple  fact  is  that  duties  which  he  once  owed  to  the 
whole  village  be  now  owed  to  the  lord.  He  could  not 
give  his  daughter  away  in  marriage  without  his  lord  s 
consent,  nor  sell  his  land,  or  in  case  of  his  death,  his 
son  could  not  inherit  his  right  without  the  consent  of 
the  lord,  which  consent  could  be  obtained  by  the  pay- 
ment of  a  small  fine. 

In  an  earlier  stage,  he  cultivated  the  chiet's  por- 


i 


VILLANAGE.  99 

tion,  while  the  chief  guarded  the  rights  of  the  whole 
village.     Now  rights  and   duties  on  both  sides  had 
been   fixed  by  immemorial  custom.     As  stated,  the 
duties  varied  on  different  manors,  just  as  primitive  cus- 
toms had  been  different,  but  on  any  one  manor  they 
were  the  same  for  all  the  villans.     A  general  outline 
may  be  given.      For  two  or  three  days  of  each  week, 
throughout  the  year,  he  was  expected  to  work  on  the 
lord's   land,   this   was    called   week   work.     Then    at 
special   seasons   of  the   year,   such  as  harvest  time, 
Spring  or  Autumn  plowing,  the  lord  had  the  right  to 
demand  special  services,  these  special  services  were 
known  as  precariae,  that  which  the  lord  had  a  right  to 
request,  or  in  English  they  were  called  boon  days.    As 
showing  how  custom  had  settled  every  little  detail,  it 
was  generally  expressly  stated  just  what  provisions 
the  lord  had  to  furnish  during  the  boon  days,  for  he 
was  expected  to  furnish  the  food  at  such  times.    Some 
days  nothing  but  drink,  others  bread  but  no  drink. 
It  is  stated  whether  the  bread  shall  be  black  or  white, 
when  the  laborer  shall  be  furnished  meat,  broth  and 
cheese.     In  one  instance,  it  is  mentioned,  that  on  the 
last  two  days  of  harvesting  each  laborer  might  bring 
a  comrade  to  supper. 

In  addition  to  the  above  he  sometimes  gave  small 
money  payments,  such  as  one  penny,  on  Ash  Wednes- 
day, two  pennies  at  Easter,  etc.  And  a  payment  in 
produce,  so  many  eggs,  hens  or  bushels  of  grain  fur- 
nished at  various  times,  as  twenty  eggs  on   Easter. 


100  VILLANAGE. 

Extra  services  were  sometimes  given,  so  many  days 
"  carrying,"  that  is,  teaming  for  the  lord.  He  must 
wash  and  shear  sheep  one  or  more  days,  and  it  sounds 
odd,  but  sometimes  it  was  provided  that  he  must  put 
in  one  day  in  the  fall  gathering  nuts  for  the  lord. 
Now  keep  firmly  in  mind  just  what  all  these  services 
really  were.  There  was  a  time  once  when  the  free- 
born  geburs  voluntarily  worked  their  chiefs  portion  of 
their  common  land  while  he  attended  to  the  business 
of  the  community.  After  long  years  of  encroachment, 
the  chief  has  become  the  lord,  claiming  all  the  land, 
the  geburs  are  villans  holding  their  land  of  the  chief 
in  consideration  of  these  various  services,  sometimes 
quite  exacting,  sometimes  light,  even  frivolous,  always 
annoying.  They  were  tied  to  the  ground,  the  ground 
tied  to  them,  and  both  were  the  qualified  property  of 
the  lord. 

Below  the  villans  there  was  a  class  of  tenants 
known  as  cotters.  Most  of  them  held  only  a  cottage 
and  one  or  two  acres  of  ground,  sometimes  as  much 
as  seven  or  eight  acres.  This  land  also  consisted  of 
scattered  acre-strips.  The  principal  point  of  difference 
between  them  and  the  villans  was  that  they  had  no 
oxen,  consequently  took  no  part  in  the  plowing.  His 
services  were  of  the  same  general  character  as  the  vil- 
lan's,  but  on  a  smaller  scale.  For  instance  he  was  to 
work  one  day  each  week  at  whatever  the  lord  required, 
and  a  whole  week  in  harvest.  Then  he  was  expected 
to  drive  and  go  on  errands,  and  to  wash  and  shear 


VILLANAGE.  101 

sheep,  and  while  thus  engaged,  to  receive  a  loaf  and  a 
half  of  bread  and  some  cheese  a  day. 

We  have  named  the  two  principal  classes  of  ten- 
ants. But  two  other  classes  are  to  be  mentioned. 
One  was  slaves,  called  servi,  taking  all  of  the  country 
together  there  were  but  few  of  them,  only  nine  per 
cent,  in  fact,  though  not  equally  distributed.  In  the 
eastern  and  middle  sections  of  the  country  but  about 
four  per  cent.,  in  the  western  sections  the  percentage 
was  as  high  as  twenty-four.  We  have  glanced  at  some 
causes  that  might  have  brought  about  the  result.  The 
mere  fact  that  there  were  more  along  the  western 
border  shows  that  in  many  cases  they  represent  the 
conquered  population  of  the  old  Britons.  Of  course 
they  held  no  land  and  were  entirely  at  the  lord's  be- 
hest. However,  abject  slavery  never  took  free  root 
in  England,  it  was  already  in  the  course  of  disappear- 
ance at  the  time  of  the  conquest,  and  in  less  than  a 
century  afterwards  was  a  thing  unknown. 

Another  class  of  tenants  were  known  as  socinen, 

that  is  one  subject  to  the  soc  or  jurisdiction  of  a  lord. 

Now  they  were    much  the  same  as  villans,  holding 

the   same    amount  of  land.     Like  the    villans,  they 

could  not  dispose  of  their  lands  or  leave  the  manor 

without  the  lord's   consent.     They  also  had  to  work 

at  special  seasons,  the  boon-days,  such  as  harrowing 

and  harvesting,  and  to  plow  a  few  days  in  autumn  and 

spring.     But  they  did  not  have   regular  week  work, 

and   in   places,  at  least,  they  were   expected  to  serve 
7 


102  VILLANAGE. 

as  soldiers   when  occasion   required.     This   class   of 
tenants  formed  but   four  per  cent,  of  the  whole  popu- 
lation, were  almost  absent  in  the  western  and  southern 
portions  of  England,  but  formed  as  high  as  forty-five 
per  cent,   in  the  eastern   portions.    The    explanation 
seems  to  be  quite   simple.     They  were  families  who 
had  in  some  way  retained   a  measure  of  their  ancient 
liberties.     As  the  percentage  is  so  much  greater  in 
just  those  portions  of  England   which   were    exposed 
to   Danish    invasion,  it  shows  that  there  the  people 
who  had  to  exert  themselves  to  defend  their  lives  and 
possessions  remembered  their  liberties  longer.     An- 
other class  of  tenants  were  known  as  free  tenants,  but 
they  were   almost   the    same  as   the  socmen.     They 
cultivated  portions  of  the  lord's  demesne  land.     It  is 
very  hard  to  define  their  status.     All  the  old  authors 
are  confused  in  their  description.     They  paid  rent  for 
their  land  and  often  had  to  do  certain  kinds  of  work. 
But,  in  many  cases  at  least,  they  did  not  have  to  pay 
a  fine  to  the  lord  when  they  married  their  daughter, 
or  sold   an   ox.      They  were   found   in  the  greatest 
abundance  in  the  same  section  of  country  as  the  soc- 
men, and  probably  the  same  explanation  may  be  given 
as  to  their  origin. 

A  manor,  such  as  we  have  now  described,  required 
certain  officials  for  its  management.  There  was 
the  stewart,  the  direct  representative  of  the  lord,  who 
held  the  manorial  court.  He  was  expected  to  be 
familiar  with   the  customs  of  the  manor,  the  number 


VILLANAGE.  103 

of  acres  to  be  plowed,  how  much  seed  was  necessary 
for  the  sowing.  The  bailiff  may  be  described  as  the 
overseer  or  manager.  In  a  book  written  late  in  the 
thirteenth  century  his  duties  are  set  forth  :  "  He  should 
rise  early  in  the  morning,  and  see  that  the  plow-teams 
are  yoked ;  and  then  he  should  walk  around  and 
inspect  the  tilled  fields,  woods,  meadows  and  past- 
ures. Then  he  should  visit  the  plows  at  their  work, 
and  take  care  that  the  oxen  are  not  unyoked  till  a  full 
day's  work  has  been  done.  He  is  to  direct  the  reap- 
ing, mowing,  carting  and  other  work."  The  reeve. 
was  the  villans'  foreman.  He  was  chosen  by  the 
tenants  to  represent  their  interests.  He  kept  account 
of  their  day's  work  and  reckoned  them  up  with  the 
bailiff.  He  was  to  see  that  the  plows  were  started 
early,  etc. 

The  manor,  like  the  earlier  village,  led  an  inde- 
pendent social  life.  It  raised  its  own  grain,  grew  its 
own  textile  fabrics,  had  its  own  church  and  its  own 
special  craftsmen.  Introduction  of  new  tenants  was 
a  very  rare  occurrence.  The  same  families  tilled  the 
village  fields  from  father  to  son.  Every  three  weeks 
the  lord  or  his  Stewart  held  court  at  the  manor  house, 
where  petty  offenders  were  tried  according  to  the  cus- 
toms of  the  manor.  This  court  was  known  as  the 
Court  Baron  and  its  proceedings  were  open  to  all  the 
villagers  who  chose  to  attend.  At  longer  intervals 
there  was  held  the  Court  Leet,  that  is  to  say  a  crim- 
inal court,  for  the  trial  of  crimes.     Not  every  manor 


104  VILLANAGE. 

could  hold  such  a  court  however,  it  required  a  special 
grant  to  confer  criminal  lurisdiction. 

Such  was  the  English  manorial  system  of  the 
eleventh  century.  The  population  of  England  at  that 
time  was  about  one  and  a  half  millions.  In  this  popu- 
lation there  were  about  two  hundred  thousand  villans 
and  cotters,  about  thirty-five  thousand  socmen  and 
free  tenants.  A  little  more  than  one-third  of  the 
arable  portion  of  the  land,  or  about  five  million  acres, 
was  under  cultivation.  About  three  million  acres  of 
this  cultivated  land  was  held  by  the  two  hundred  and 
thirty-five  thousand  tenant  farmers  by  various  terms 
of  tenure.  We  must  not  forget  that  their  claim  to 
the  land  was  quite  as  strong  as  the  lord's  claim  to 
them.  The  lord  was  bound  by  custom  even  as  they 
were,  and  in  some  cases  he  was  actually  subject  to  a 
fine  if  he  neglected  his  duties.  There  was  still  a  vast 
amount  of  land,  some  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  whole  of 
England,  waste  or  unimproved  land.  There  were 
enormous  tracts  of  forests  and  marsh.  The  home  of 
tbe  wild  boar,  wolves,  deer  and  bear.  Hunting  was 
the  chief  past-time  of  the  nobility.  We  must  not 
suppose  that  all  of  the  population  were  agriculturalists. 
At  the  time  of  the  conquest  there  were  some  eighty 
towns  in  England  containing  a  population  of  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand. 

Now,  before  considering  the  development  of  the 
towns,  which  is  most  intimately  connected  with  our 
present  industrial  system,  we  must  notice  what  changes 


VILLANAGE.  105 

gradually  came  over  the  manorial  system,  and  thus 
trace  out  this  line  of  development  first.  Trifling 
changes  sometimes  mark  the  beginning  of  movements 
destined  to  exert  a  great  influence  on  society  at  large. 
We  have  seen  what  a  great  change  slowly,  almost  im- 
perceptibly, was  produced  by  the  mere  conception  of 
personal  property.  The  increased  use  of  money  as 
the  general  measure  of  exchange  value  finally  leads 
amongst  all  people  from  a  payment  in  kind  to  a  pay- 
ment in  money.  Instead  of  goods  being  exchanged 
for  goods,  they  are  exchanged  for  money.  The  same 
principle  is  finally  applied  to  the  holding  of  land.  The 
tendency  began  to  commute  the  various  services  into 
money.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  movement  which 
was  very  efficacious  in  overturning  the  whole  system 
of  villanage. 

This  was  a  matter  of  pure  business  on  the  part 
of  the  lord  and  his  tenants.  We  can  see  that  when 
the  use  of  money  began  to  be  somewhat  common 
that  it  might  be  more  convenient  for  both  parties  to 
make  the  payments  in  money.  Wages  were  cheap. 
To  take  an  illustration  from  Oxfordshire,  the  regular 
week  work  for  the  year  was  commuted  at  one-half  a 
penny  a  day.  The  extra  work  at  harvest  and  at  other 
times  at  one  penny  a  day.  In  that  case,  by  paying 
nine  shillings  and  seven  pence  per  year  the  villan  was 
free  from  his  lord's  claim.  This  was  of  advantage  to 
the  villan,  for  he  might  employ  his  time  more  profita- 
bly in  some   other   manner,  and  at  the  same  time,  in 


106  VILLANAGE. 

many  ways,  the  money  might  be  of  more  advantage 
to  the  lord. 

It  is  thought  that  this  process  of  commutation 
begun  even  before  the  conquest,  but  it  certainly  went 
forward  quite  rapidly  after  that  event."  Late  in  the 
thirteenth  century  Edward  I.  sent  commissioners  into 
the  various  counties  of  England  to  inquire  into  the 
holding  of  land,  on  the  same  principle  that  William 
had  caused  the  doomsday  survey  to  be  made.  The 
result  of  this  inquiry  showed  there  were  at  that  time 
three  principal  classes  of  tenants.  One  who  had 
commuted  all  their  services  for  a  definite  money  pay- 
ment, and  we  might  remark,  by  the  way,  that  this 
class  was  not  now  considered  as  villans,  but  had  ad- 
vanced to  the  ranks  of  free  men.  A  second  class 
paid  money  or  rendered  service  as  the  lord  desired ; 
and  the  third  class,  finally,  performed  either  the  whole 
or  at  any  rate  a  great  part  of  the  actual  services  due. 
This  is  as  we  might  have  expected,  for  the  tendency 
would  be  for  commutation  to  increase  as  time  went 
on.  For  several  reasons  the  number  of  free  tenants 
had  increased.  Inasmuch  as  one  of  the  principal 
duties  was  to  cultivate  the  lord's  land,  it  might  be  more 
advantageous  to  the  lord  to  let  his  land  for  money 
rent.  This  would  render  his  need  for  tenants  less, 
and  so  he  would  be  more  ready  to  accept  commuta- 
tion of  their  work.  But  all  this  was  steadily  working 
towards  the  dissolution  of  the  old  manor. 

By  this  time  a  new  legal  theory  had  been  evolved 


VILLANAGE.  107 

by  the  crown  lawyers ;  which  was  especially  accepta- 
ble to  the  landholding  nobility.  It  was  this  view  that 
finally  found  expression  in^the  law  books,  and  so  has 
come  down  to  present  times  and  has  been  accepted 
by  those  who  have  not  inquired  deeper.  This  new 
theory  supposed  that  the  whole  manor  system  was 
created  by  grant,  that  the  lord  was  and  always  had 
been  the  real  owner  of  the  soil,  that  the  rights  of  the 
tenants  were  only  such  as  he  had  seen  fit  to  grant 
them  in  consideration  of  services,  etc.  The  effect  of 
this  theory  was  to  construe  the  tenants  rights  strictly, 
just  the  opposite  course  should  have  been  taken,  the 
lord's  rights  should  have  been  construed  strictly.  The 
meaning  of  this  last  phrase,  to  those  not  accustomed 
to  legal  sayings,  is  this ;  the  tenants  had  to  show  by 
immemorial  custom  or  other  evidence  the  source  of  all 
the  rights  they  claimed,  the  lord  did  not  have  to  show 
the  source  of  any  of  his  rights. 

This  theory  was  but  the  final  result  of  the  slow 
encroachment  of  the  lord  on  the  rights  of  the  com- 
munity. One  of  the  first  fruits  was  the  appropriation 
to  his  own  use  by  the  lord  of  portions  of  the  waste  be- 
longing to  the  manor.  Not  satisfied  with  his  own 
ample  portion  of  demesne  land,  he  began  to  inclose 
portions  of  the  waste  and  let  them  out  to  tenants  who 
paid  him  a  regular  rent  According  to  the  prevailing 
legal  opinion  why  should  tenants  object  to  this,  all 
they  could  claim  was  right  to  common,  that  is,  to 
pasturage,  etc.,  but  if  sufficient  land  was  left  for  past- 


108  VlLLANAGE, 

urage  the  lord  could  do  as  he  wished  with  the  rest. 
What  is  known  as  the  Statute  of  Merton  in  1235  legal- 
ized such  enclosure  which  right  was  further  extended 
by  the  Statute  of  Westminster,  1285.  Just  tne  oppo- 
site view  should  have  been  maintained.  The  lord 
should  have  been  strictly  confined  to  his  ancient 
demesne  lands. 

About  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  oc- 
curred the  terrible  outbreak  of  the  Plague,  or  as  it 
was  called,  the  Black  Death,  in  Europe.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  twenty-five  million  people  died  during  this 
epidemic.  From  one-third  to  one-half  of  the  popula- 
tion of  England  was  swept  away.  Such  a  terrible 
visitation  as  this  formed  an  epoch,  and  for  many  years 
afterwards  it  was  used  as  a  date  to  reckon  from.  The 
effects  of  this  reign  of  terror  showed  themselves  in 
every  direction.  The  novelist,  Boccacio,  shows  how 
the  general  despair  of  the  times  made  men  reckless, 
superstitious,  heartless,  cruel  and  licentious.  The 
historian,  Sismondi,  has  collected  statistics  to  the  same 
effect.  It  was  noticed  in  England  that  a  notable  de- 
cline of  learning  and  morals  was  observed  among  the 
clergy,  many  persons  of  slight  accomplishments  and 
low  character  stepping  into  vacant  places.  We  are 
not  surprised  then  to  learn  of  great  changes  taking 
place  in  agricultural  interests.  When  we  reflect  what 
a  large  portion  of  the  population  was  swept  away,  in 
some  cases  whole  villages  were  almost  depopulated, 
we  can  at  once  see  that  there  would  en^ae  a  very  great 


VILLANAGE.  109 

disarrangement  of  existing  relations,  and  a  great  scar- 
city of  agricultural  labor.  Crops  rotted  in  the  fields 
for  want  of  hands.  Cattle  and  sheep  roamed  at  large 
over  the  country  for  lack  of  herdsmen.  In  one  old 
deed  dated  135 1  we  read  that  owing  to  the  vast  "mor- 
tality of  men  in  these  days — lands  lie  uncultivated  in 
many  places,  not  a  few  tenements  daily  and  suddenly 
decay  and  are  pulled  down,  rents  and  services  cannot 
be  levied  nor  the  advantage  of  them  generally  had  can 
be  received." 

This  scarcity  of  laborers  was  followed  by  several 
different  results.  In  the  first  place,  many  manors, 
owing  to  the  great  decrease  in  the  number  of  their 
tenants,  and  being  unable  to  obtain  more  laborers, 
turned  their  attention  to  sheep  husbandry.  Wool  had 
always  been  a  most  important  product,  it  was  now  be- 
coming even  more  valuable.  But  to  keep  sheep  did 
not  require  many  tenants.  So  inclosures  of  the  waste 
for  the  purpose  of  sheep  farming  went  steadily  forward, 
and  even  land  which  had  been  long  tilled  was  thrown 
into  pasturage.  We  must  note  that  this  also  would 
have  a  tendency  to  overthrow  the  old  manorial  system. 

There  being  comparatively  few  laborers,  of  course 
the  value  of  labor  was  greatly  increased.  It  was  at- 
tempted to  remedy  this  by  legislation.  It  is  somewhat 
singular  to  find  that  the  first  legislation  on  the  general 
subject  of  labor  sought  to  prevent  the  laborer  from  de- 
manding what  was  considered  as  excessive  wages.  It 
was  ordered  that  "  every  one  free  or  villan  who  can 


110  TILL  AN  AGE. 

work  and  has  no  other  means  of  livelihood  is  not  to 
refuse  to  do  so  for  any  one  who  offers  the  accustomed 
wages  ;  each  lord  is  to  have  the  preference  in  hiring 
the  men  on  his  own  estate,  but  none  is  to  have  too 
many  men  for  his  work."  No  laborer  was  to  leave 
his  employment  before  the  time  agreed  upon,  or  to 
receive  more  rations  or  wages  than  they  did  in  the 
years  before  the  plague.  This  regulation  applied  to 
all  classes  of  laborers — town  laborers,  such  as  tailors 
and  carpenters — as  well  as  agricultural  laborers.  The 
statute  also  tried  to  regulate  the  prices  of  provisions 
and  the  necessaries  of  life.  Strict  penalties  were  an- 
nounced against  those  who,  if  able  to  labor,  refused  to 
do  so,  but  preferred  to  '•  tramp,"  as  we  would  say 
now,  those  who  assisted  such  tramps  were  to  be  im- 
prisoned. 

Later  these  penalties  were  rendered  more  severe. 
Laborers  and  artificers  were  fined  and  imprisoned  with- 
out bail  if  they  refused  to  work.  Those  who  broke 
their  agreement  were  to  be  outlawed  and  if  captured 
branded  with  the  letter  F  for  their  falsity,  while  towns 
where  runaways  were  harbored  were  to  be  fined  ten 
pounds. 

Prof,  Rogers  shows  how  this  attempt  to  regulate 
wages  failed.  "  Year  after  year,  almost  century  after 
century,  the  Parliament  complained  that  the  statute  of 
laborers  was  not  kept,  re-enacted  it,  strove  to  make  it 
effective,  were  baffled,  adopted  new  and  harsher  expe- 
dients, and  were  disappointed."    The  fact  is,  although 


VILLANAGE.  Ill 

it  does  not  appear  on  the  surface  of  affairs,  that  there 
was  some  sort  of  a  combination  made  by  the  various 
classes  of  laborers,  to  resist  this  legislation,  and  they 
were  successful.  In  various  ways  the  law  was  evaded. 
Nominally  the  old  compensation  might  be  given,  but 
in  some  ways  the  laborer  would  be  compensated. 
Finding  this  scheme  would  not  work  the  land  claim- 
ing nobility  bethought  themselves  of  another  expe- 
dient. We  have  seen  there  were  three  classes  of 
tenants.  The  lowest  class  paid  the  larger  part  of  their 
dues  in  actual  labor.  The  new  idea  was  to  be  careful 
and  not  release  such  tenants  from  their  labor  obliga- 
tions,  to  hold  them  strictly  to  it.  The  second  class  of 
tenants  paid  either  money  rent  or  services  at  the  op- 
tion of  the  lord.  In  such  cases  insist  on  the  payment 
in  work.  As  for  the  first  class  of  tenants  who  had 
commuted  all  their  work-services  for  money  payment, 
were  there  not  plenty  of  lawyers  to  expound  the  legal 
view,  that  after  all  such  bargains  depended  on  the 
good  nature  of  the  lord  who  had  kindly  permitted  them 
to  pay  money  instead  of  work?  There  could  of  course 
be  no  legal  wrong  done  if  the  lord  now  revoked  such 
consent.  In  short  a  deliberate  attempt  was  made  to 
re-establish  villanage  in  its  most  unattractive  features. 
Not  only  was  such  an  attempt  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  the  age,  but  a  new  method  of  resisting  the 
claim  had  now  been  learned,  that  was  the  power  of 
combination.  And  here  we  want  to  pause  to  note  an 
interesting  fact  in  regard  to  the  teachings  of  Wicliff. 


112  VILLANAGE. 

We  are  not  concerned  with  his  religious  teachings, 
save  as  they  throw  light  on  the  present  problem.  The 
simple  fact  is,  in  his  revolt  against  the  pope,  he  taught 
the  natural  equality  of  all  men.  He  had  furthermore 
organized  a  class  of  poor  priests.  They  were  to  travel 
around,  living  on  charity,  exhorting  men  to  good  work, 
and  teaching  their  founders  ideas,  but  subject  to  no 
discipline.  It  was  just  this  class  of  wandering  priests, 
with  their  ideas  of  social  equality,  who  were  active 
agents  in  warning  all  classes  of  villans  of  their  danger, 
and  who  assisted  them  in  organizing  to  prevent  it. 

Accordingly  in  the  year  1381  there  was  a  formid- 
able insurrection  led  by  Wat  Tyler.  Judged  from 
this  difference  in  time,  it  seems  to  have  been  more  a 
series  of  mob  movements  than  anything  else.  It  was 
suppressed  in  a  very  short  time,  and  yet  all  England 
was  profoundly  moved,  and  it  seems  as  if  the  nobility 
at  once  abandoned  all  hopes  of  re-established  villan- 
age.  Commutation  was  resumed,  and  the  whole  in- 
stitution gradually  passed  away.  In  1447  we  find 
Henry  VI.  legislating  about  his  bondsmen  in  Wales. 
A  writer  in  the  third  decade  of  the  sixteenth  century 
laments  over  the  continuance  of  villanage  as  a  disgrace 
to  the  country.  "  Howbeit  "  he  says,  "  in  some  places 
the  bondsmen  continue  as  yet,  the  which  me  seemeth 
the  greatest  inconvenience,  that  now  is  suffered  by  the 
law,  that  is  to  have  any  Christian  man  bounden  to  an- 
other." In  1574  we  find  Elizabeth  setting  free  the 
villans  on  the  royal  estate. 


VILLANAGE.  113 

Thus  villanage  as  an  institution  passed  out  of 
existence.  But  the  substantial  fruit  of  these  many 
centuries  of  development  remained  with  the  nobility. 
In  reclaiming  their  own  freedom  from  the  slavery  into 
which  they  had  allowed  themselves  to  sink,  the  com- 
mon tenants  unfortunately  suffered  the  lord's  claim  to 
the  land  to  remain  in  existence.  Deprived  of  the 
work  of  his  villans,  except  at  a  rate  of  wages  he  did 
not  care  to  pay,  the  lord  let  out  more  and  more  of  his 
land  for  a  money  rent.  In  places  they  extended  their 
sheep  farms,  and  became  more  agressive  about  enclos- 
ing the  common  waste  or  the  lord's  waste  as  it  was 
then  called.  The  lord  also  adopted  the  custom  of 
leasing  his  land  and  stock  to  tenants  for  a  period  of 
years.  As  the  stock  died  off  it  was  replaced  by  the 
tenant.  Thus  we  have  the  beginning  of  the  ordinary 
system  of  English  tenant  farming,  in  which  the  capital 
is  supplied  by  the  tenant,  who  pays  a  definite  rent  to 
the  landlord  for  farm  and  building. 

Thus  in  England  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth 
century  to  which  we  have  arrived,  though  there  were 
numerous  very  large  landed  estates,  yet  the  country 
contained  a  numerous  class  of  yeoman  or  peasant 
proprietors,  who  held  a  copyhold  estate  and  tenants 
at  will,  renting  land  of  the  lord.  This  century  is 
known  as  the  golden  age  of  agricultural  laborers  in 
England.  Relatively  the  wages  were  very  high.  One 
reason  for  this  was  the  large  number  of  small  tenant 
farmers,  and  consequently  the  relative  scarcity  of  la- 


114  VILLANAGE. 

borers  for  hire.  This  pleasant  state  of  affairs  is  refer- 
red to  in  most  glowing  terms  by  writers  of  the  time. 
So  prosperous  were  the  laborers  that  parliament 
thought  it  wise  to  interfere  to  prevent  their  wearing 
such  costly  apparel  as  they  did. 

In  1463  it  was  enacted  that  laborers  should  not 
wear  clothing  made  of  material  that  cost  more  than 
two  shillings  a  yard,  while  their  wives  were  not  to  give 
more  than  a  shilling  for  a  head-dress.  That  would 
be  about  like  a  law  at  the  present  day,  that  ordinary 
workmen's  wives  should  not  wear  costly  seal  cloaks. 

A  great  but  silent  change,  which  had  been  going 
on  for  centuries,  had  by  this  time  fully  developed.  An- 
cient tribal  society  resting  on  personal  relations  and 
groups  of  persons  as  a  basis,  had  now  fully  given 
place  to  modern  political  society.  The  lines  of  cleavage 
which  run  through  society  were  no  longer  perpendicu- 
lar, splitting  it  up  into  little  groups,  but  were  now 
horizontal,  dividing  society  into  great  classes  of  people. 
And  now  also  begun  the  play  of  modern  economic 
ideas,  which  have  steadily,  slowly  but  surely  pushed 
these  classes  wider  and  wider  apart.  Modern  indus- 
trial life  was  then  assuming  great  proportions.  A 
great  career  of  progress  was  about  to  open  before  the 
Anglo-Saxon  people,  but  it  was  progress  accompanied 
by  poverty*  Modern  pauperism  dates  from  the  four- 
teenth century.  No  less  an  authority  than  Prof.  Rogers 
has  left  on  record  his  strong  conviction  that  as  far  as 
suffering  arising  from  common  necessities  of  life  are 


VILLANAGE.  115 

concerned,  there  is  much  greater  misery  at  present, 
with  all  the  enlightenment  of  the  times,  than  in  the 
darkest  days  of  villanage. 

The  fifteenth  century,  which  we  have  seen  de- 
scribed as  the  golden  age  of  the  agricultural  laborer, 
was  a  century  of  disturbance  in  English  history  owing 
to  the  many  conflicts  between  the  houses  of  York  and 
Lancaster.  This  led  to  the  great  impoverishment  of 
lords  and  barons.  Now  each  great  lord  kept  a  band 
of  armed  retainers  ready  to  fight  under  his  leader- 
ship. They  were  the  fifteenth  century  survivals  of  the 
bands  of  warriors  who  gathered  around  the  standard 
of  successful  chiefs  in  primitive  times.  When  the 
nobility  found  themselves  almost  impoverished  by  the 
numerous  wars  of  the  Roses,  they  were  compelled  to 
dismiss  these  bands  of  retainors.  It  is  true  that  Par- 
liament had  already  legislated  for  this  end,  but  the 
poverty  of  the  nobles  was  a  more  powerful  agent  than 
legislation.  This  action  threw  on  the  labor  market 
large  numbers  of  people  who  owned  no  land,  and  had 
to  compete  with  other  laborers  for  a  living. 

But  the  poverty  of  the  nobles  had  still  other  re- 
sults. The  market  value  of  wool  rose  rapidly  by 
reason  of  the  development  of  manufacturers  in  Flan- 
ders. There  was  no  way  they  could  use  their  land 
more  profitably  than  to  lay  it  down  in  sheep  pastures. 
But  such  procedure  gradually  led  to  the  eviction  of 
tenants  holding  land  on  lease.  As  their  leases  ex- 
pired,   the  renewal   was   refused,  the    cottages  were 


116  VILLANAGE. 

pulled  down  and  cultivated  land  turned  into  pasturage. 
But  this  was  not  the  worst.  Encroachments  on  the 
common  waste  became  very  bold.  When  Henry 
Tudor  united  the  houses  of  York  and  Lancaster  this 
evil  had  grown  to  great  dimensions.  This  led  to  a 
decline  in  rural  population.  A  writer  of  the  times 
declares  that  in  nearly  every  manor  from  seventeen 
to  twenty  houses  were  gone  to  decay  from  loss  of  ten- 
ants, that  some  villages  had  decreased  from  one-fourth 
to  one-half,  that  whole  towns  had  been  destroyed  for 
sheep  walks. 

The  government  of  the  times  attempted  to  remedy 
the  evil.  Bacon,  in  his  history  of  Henry  VII.,  has 
left  quite  an  interesting  account  of  the  evils  of  incis- 
ures and  the  laws  to  prevent  the  same.  He  tells  us 
that  this  course  "bred  a  decay  of  people  and  by  con- 
sequence a  decay  of  towns,  churches,  tithes  and  the 
like."  The  statute  enacted  in  1489  ordained  that  all 
"  houses  of  husbandry  "  to  which  twenty  acres  of  land 
belonged  should  be  preserved.  The  idea  was  that  if 
such  houses  were  kept  up  there  would  ol  necessity  be 
a  yeoman  farmer  living  there,  and  such  men  were,  as 
Bacon  observes,  the  main-stay  of  the  king's  armies 
and  invaluable  to  the  country.  This  law,  however, 
like  a  great  many  more  useful  laws,  failed  of  its  effect. 
Less  than  fifty  years  later,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII., 
this  law  was  renewed.  It  goes  on  to  state  how  "  many 
farms  and  large  flocks  of  cattle,  especially  of  sheep, 
are  concentratated  in  the  hands  of  a  few  men,  whereby 


VILLANAGE.  117 

the  rent  of  the  land  has  much  risen  and  tillage  has 
fallen  off,  churches  and  houses  have  been  pulled  down, 
and  marvellous  numbers  of  people  have  been  de- 
prived of  the  means  whence  with  to  maintain  them- 
selves and  their  families,  but  be  so  discouraged  with 
misery  and  poverty  that  they  fall  daily  to  theft,  rob- 
bery and  other  inconveniences,  or  pitifully  die  for 
hunger  and  cold."  Hence  it  orders  the  rebuilding  of 
farm  houses.  But  these  laws  failed,  just  as  steadily  as 
laws  to-day  sometimes  fail  of  their  effect. 

We  must  now  turn  aside  to  glance  at  one  phase 
of  the  Reformation.  When  the  power  of  the  church 
was  overthrown  by  Henry  VIII.  he  deprived  the 
numerous  religious  houses,  monasteries  and  the  like, 
of  their  lands.  It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  a  state- 
ment of  the  causes  leading  to  this  step.  The  church 
lands  constituted  about  one-third  of  the  lands  of  Eng- 
land. Economically  considered  this  step  was  bad.  It 
might  have  been  different  if  the  land  had  been  de- 
voted to  the  use  of  the  people.  It  was  simply  par- 
celled out  to  a  lot  of  royal  favorites,  who,  as  fast  as 
they  could,  imitated  the  action  of  other  landholders, 
that  is  to  say,  inclosed  the  common  land,  refused  the 
renewal  of  leases,  evicted  tenants  at  will,  and  thus 
aided  in  the  general  movement  of  depriving  the  mass 
of  the  people  of  their  interest  in  land. 

In  regard  to  enclosures,  the   process   continued 

right   along.     The  evils   were    many  and   constantly 

increasing.     In  many  cases   the  rapacity  of  the  lord 
8 


118  VILLANAGE. 

was  such  that  he  did  not  leave  sufficient  pasturage  for 
the  tenants  in  common.  They  were  poor  and  could 
not  resist  the  lord,  but  the  result  was  that  while  not 
actually  evicted,  they  could  no  longer  keep  the  stock 
they  used  to,  and  hence  their  farming  became  unprof- 
itable. A  new  form  of  enclosure  began  to  be  com- 
mon in  the  fifteenth  century.  That  consisted  in 
breaking  up  the  common  cultivated  fields  of  which  we 
have  spoken,  and  dividing  the  land  among  the  number 
of  tenants.     No  great  objection  could  be  made  to  this 

form,  and  in  the  eighteenth  century  it  became   very 

« 

common.  No  less  than  four  thousand  enclosure  acts, 
distributing  seven  million  acres  of  land  were  passed 
by  Parliament  from  1760  to  1845. 

If  we  will  now  reflect  we  will  see  that  by  the  six- 
teenth century  industrial  affairs  in  England  were  vastly 
different  from  what  they  were  in  the  eleventh.  This 
will  come  out  all  the  more  clearly  when  we  consider 
the  growth  and  development  of  towns.  At  that  early 
date  agriculture  was  almost  the  only  pursuit ;  while 
there  were,  to  be  sure,  great  lords  claiming  vast  es- 
tates, yet  the  great  mass  of  the  people  claimed  rights 
in  a  definite  amount  of  land,  and  by  far  the  larger  por- 
tion of  the*  land  was  owned  in  common  by  the  tenants 
of  the  various  manors.  By  the  sixteenth  century  there 
was  the  land  holding  nobility  owning  the  larger  portion 
of  the  land.  In  the  common  land  the  lord's  right  was 
so  strong  that  he  felt  at  liberty  to  enclose  what  he 
wanted,  provided  he  left  enough  for  pasturage  for  the 


VILLANAGE.  119 

village  tenants,  but  this  vague  and  uncertain  quantity 
was  largely  at  the  mercy  of  the  lord,  and  in  many  ways 
he  knew  how  to  circumvent  the  law.  There  was  also 
an  increasing  number  of  the  population,  the  great  ma- 
jority, even  at  that  early  date,  who  had  no  claim  on 
any  land,  and  no  way  of  obtaining  any.  They  consti- 
tuted a  great  army  of  laborers.  Another  class  had 
come  into  existence,  a  class  virtually  unknown  at  the 
earlier  date,  this  was  a  class  of  paupers.  "  Paupers 
are  everywhere,"  exclaimed  Elizabeth.  This  was 
sadly  true.  The  reason  is  plain  to  any  one  who  under- 
stands the  slow  process  extending  through  some  cent- 
uries by  which  the  common  people  had  been  deprived 
of  their  rights  to  the  land. 

There  was  still,  however,  in  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries  a  great  army  of  yeoman  farmers 
in  England.  That  is  to  say,  farmers  who  owned  small 
farms,  with  rights  of  common,  perhaps,  in  other  land. 
Near  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  there  was 
estimated  to  be  nearly  two  hundred  thousand  yeoman 
farmers  in  England.  A  century  later  they  had  prac- 
tically disappeared.  Many  causes  contributed  to  this 
result.  The  most  important,  however,  was  the  increas- 
ing use  of  capital  in  farming.  The  small  farmer  could 
not  compete  with  the  larger.  They  eked  out  their 
living  by  domestic  manufacturing,  but  when  the  era  of 
manufacturing  proper  dawned,  and  the  spinning  wheels 
of  the  country  were  gathered  in  huge  factories,  they 
could  no  longer  support  themselves.     "  When  once 


120  VILLANAGE. 

the  ranks  of  the  yeomanry  had  been  thinned,"  says 
Toynbee,  "  the  process  of  extinction  went  on  with  ever 
growing  rapidity.  The  survivors  became  isolated, 
they  would  have  no  one  of  their  own  station  to  whom 
they  could  marry  their  daughters,  and  would  become 
more  and  more  willing  to  sell  their  lands,  however 
strong  the  passion  of  possession  might  be." 

Now  notice  that  as  far  as  land  is  concerned  in 
England,  it  commenced  by  being  common  property, 
it  was  a  long  and  slow  process  by  which  private  prop- 
erty was  evolved,  and  no  sooner  does  that  make  its 
appearance  than  we  see  that  already  privileged  classes 
have  made  their  appearance.  Then  there  dawned  the 
age  of  modern  capitalistic  production,  and  from  that 
day  to  this  the  process  has  continued  to  its  inevitable 
end,  that  is,  the  vast  majority  of  inhabitants  are  pov- 
erty stricken  and  landless.  Less  than  one  per  cent, 
of  the  population  of  Great  Britain  are  land  holders. 
Twelve  hundred  individuals  own  on  an  average  over 
sixteen  thousand  acres  each. 


MR 

!! 

i 

THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   TOWNS.  123 


COPTER  IV. 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS. 

Increasing  Importance  of  Trade — Towns  in  Ancient  Greece 
— In  Early  Britain — How  Towns  were  formed — From  the  Village 
Community — Around  Monasteries — From  Danish  Times — The 
Government  of  Towns — Rise  of  the  Gild-Merchant — Powers  of  the 
Gild — How  the  towns  gained  a  local  Government  —The  Gild  and 
the  Town  Authorities — Town  Life  in  the  12th  century — Foreign 
Trade  —  Foreign  Gilds— The  Medieval  Fairs— The  Stourbridge 
Fair— Rise  of  Craft-Gilds— Development  of  the  Gilds— The  Decay 
of  the  Gilds — Conclusion. 

MAN    reached    an    advanced 
stage  of  development,  trade 
and  commerce  began  to  play 
an  important   part  in   the 
life  of  the  people.      Agri- 
culture indeed  supplied  the 
pressing  needs  of  the  people,  but 
in  order  to  give  play  to  the  higher  faculties,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  set  before  the  mind  some  goal  to  be  reached 
by  increased  exertion.     The  expanding  wants  of  man 
serve  such  purpose.     Nothing  increases  man's  wants 
so  much  as  a  knowledge  of  the  products  of  other  lands. 
The  tea,  coffee  and  spices  of  oriental  lands  afford  en- 
joyment to  those  who  use  them.     A  knowledge  of  this 
fact  induces  the  inhabitants  of  other  lands  to  make 


124  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS. 

great  exertion  to  procure  such  luxuries.  They  weave 
cloth,  invent  and  manufacture  useful  commodities  in 
order  to  have  something  to  exchange  for  them.  Suc- 
cess in  this  direction  spurs  the  mind  on  to  greater 
efforts  and  thus  progress  continues  at  an  accelerated 
rate.  The  machinery  by  which  such  exchange  is  ef- 
fected is  trade,  on  an  extended  scale  we  call  it  com- 
merce. Trade  calls  into  being  and  gives  employment 
to  a  class  of  people  not  connected  with  the  land.  They 
settle  in  towns,  which  if  advantageously  located,  grow 
into  cities.  The  inhabitants  of  such  towns  are,  or  were 
in  the  first  place,  called  burghers,  from  whence  comes 
the  word  bourgeois,  and  bourgeois  laws  or  economy 
came  to  be  very  important  in  the  history  of  political 
economy. 

Thus  the  development  of  towns  plays  an  import- 
ant part  in  our  investigations.  This  development  has 
not  been  the  same  in  all  lands.  In  ancient  Greece,  no 
less  than  in  Rome,  the  settlements  of  the  tribes  them- 
selves developed  into  cities.  This  simple  fact  had  a 
great  deal  to  do  with  the  peculiarly  rich  culture  that 
developed  so  early  in  those  lands.  In  all  Teutonic 
countries,  however,  as  we  have  seen,  the  tribe  split  up 
and  the  gentes  formed  little  agricultural  communities, 
the  origin  of  towns  proper  must  be  looked  for  in  an- 
other direction.  We  will  only  consider  the  case  of 
Britain. 

When  Britain  was  a  Roman  province,  there  were 
a  number  of  flourishing  cities,  but  when  the  Teutonic 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS.         125 

tribes  invaded  the  country  the  majority  of  these  disap- 
peared. The  very  sites  of  some  are  now  unknown. 
Others  have  but  recently  been  discovered.  Thus  in 
1857  quite  by  accident  was  discovered  the  site  of 
Uriconium,  one  of  the  wealthiest  of  them  all.  Some 
like  London  were  spared.  The  history  of  this  city  is 
probably  an  exceptional  one,  but  even  it  was  largely 
laid  in  ruins  by  the  Saxon  conquerors.  It  is  at  once 
evident  that  all  towns  which  did  survive  the  storm 
were  in  quite  a  different  situation  from  the  agricultural 
villages.  In  the  first  place  their  governmeut  must 
have  been  quite  different.  To  illustrate,  in  -the  case 
of  London,  there  was  the  neuclus  of  the  old  Roman 
city  surrounded  by  several  agricultural  villages,  all  of 
which  were  finally  united  in  the  growth  of  the  city. 
Mr.  Gomme  has  in  an  interesting  way  pointed  out  the 
gradual  conflict  of  authority  between  the  villages  and 
the  town,  but  how,  finally,  the  municipal  customs  of 
the  old  Roman  city  prevailed.  The  Saxon  kings  pro- 
tected the  towns,  probably  finding  in  them  some  means 
of  increasing  their  strength. 

But  the  majority  of  towns  have  a  different  history, 
and  it  is  interesting  to  trace  out  their  origins.  In  some 
cases  it  might  have  been  the  ancient  village  commu- 
nity which  gradually  grew  into  a  town.  The  very 
names  of  some  towns  as  Birmingham,  {Bearms-heini), 
indicate  their  origin.  Manchester  remained  under  the 
government  of  its  feudal  lord  until  the  year  1846.  In 
other  cases  a  town  was  formed  by  the  growing  together 


126  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS. 

of  several  villages.  This  is  shown  in  a  curious  manner 
at  Cambridge.  We  have  seen  that  the  pindar  or  vil- 
lage pound-keeper  was  a  village  official.  In  Cam- 
bridge this  office  survived.  And  though  there  was 
need  for  but  one  pound-keeper,  yet  as  late  as  1834  the 
several  different  districts  of  the  city  corresponding  to 
the  old  villages  elected  each  their  pindar.  In  such 
cases  as  these  the  town  would  remain  under  the  juris- 
diction of  a  feudal  lord,  possibly  of  several,  how  they 
were  able  to  shake  off  the  yoke  will  be  shown  later. 

Many  English  towns  grew  up  around  monasteries. 
Oxford,  St.  Albans,  Durham,  may  be  mentioned  as 
examples.  It  is  a  principal  as  old  as  human  nature  to 
celebrate  by  means  of  funeral  games  the  memory  of 
heroes.  This  gave  occasion  for  meeting  and  for  trad- 
ing, and  annual  fairs  were  subsequently  held  at  such 
place  of  burial.  The  commemoration  of  the  saint  in 
whose  honor  the  monastery  was  founded,  served  the 
same  purpose.  The  origin  of  Glasgow  may  be  traced 
from  the  burial  place  of  St.  Ninian.  Such  towns  as 
these  were  under  the  control  of  the  abbot  of  the  mon- 
astery, and  the  monks  were  very  tenacious  of  their 
rights.  Of  this  we  will  speak  later,  we  might  say  that 
in  some  cases  the  claims  of  the  abbot  were  only  extin- 
guished by  actual  warfare,  as  at  Norwich,  Reading 
and  some  other  places. 

Many  towns  date  from  the  time  of  the  Danish 
invasion.  In  some  cases,  as  at  Warwick,  garrisons 
were  stationed  to  keep  the  Danes  in  subjection.  Such 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS.         127 

a  force  required  for  its  maintenance  supplies  of  vari- 
ous kinds.  This  gave  rise  to  a  market,  and  a  town 
would  thus  grow  up.  Another  cause,  however,  was 
at  work.  The  Danes  and  Northmen  were  the  lead- 
ing merchants  of  the  day.  They  undertook  long  sea 
voyages.  As  is  well  known  they  settled  Iceland, 
Greenland,  and  sailed  up  and  down  the  eastern  coast 
of  the  United  States  long  before  Columbus  anchored 
at  San  Salvador.  They  were  acquainted  with  the 
Mediterranean  regions  as  well.  It  is  true  they  were 
great  pirates,  but  then  at  that  time  and  for  long  after- 
wards piracy  was  reckoned  an  honorable  calling. 
Under  their  influence,  solely  to  advance  their  trade, 
many  towns  were  started.  Stamford,  Nottingham, 
and  Lincoln  may  be  mentioned  as  examples. 

Such  towns  as  these,  and  many  others  located  at 
points  of  strategical  importance  on  rivers,  and  some- 
times possessing  good  harbors,  were  directly  under 
the  control  of  the  king.  As  showing  the  importance 
which  the  king  placed  on  the  growth  of  towns,  and 
consequent  increase  of  trade,  we  find  some  kings, 
notably  Edward  I.,  making  great  exertions  in  laying 
out  and  encouraging  the  building  of  towns  on  royal 
lands.  The  tax  which  the  towns  paid  to  the  royal 
exchecker  was  no  inconsiderable  item  in  the  king's 
revenue,  In  all,  at  the  time  of  the  Norman  conquest, 
there  were  eighty  towns  with  a  population  of  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  Many  of  them  under 
the  control  of  the  king,  others  in  the  jurisdiction  of  a 


128         THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS. 

feudal  lord  or  abbot.  The  towns  were  generally  com- 
manded by  a  castle,  the  most  important  of  which  were 
garrisoned  by  the  royal  forces  as  at  Oxford  and 
Windsor. 

Now  we  must  inquire  as  to  the  government  of 
the  towns,  the  subject  is  of  importance  since  it  intro- 
duces us  to  the  gild  system  of  the  middle  ages.  It 
is  only  by  slow  steps  that  institutions  develop.  As 
we  have  seen  in  many  cases  the  towns  were  under  the 
rule  or  jurisdiction  of  a  feudal  lord,  and  the  citizens 
were  in  much  the  same  circumstances  as  the  ordinary 
villagers,  even  to  the  extent  of  having  to  do  week 
work,  furnishing  teams  for  plowing,  etc.  But  we  can 
see  how  the  possession  of  wealth,  learning  and  energy 
would  give  the  townsmen  an  advantage  over  the  vil- 
lagers, and  how  at  a  very  early  date,  they  would,  in 
the  majority  of  cases,  contrive  to  commute  the  usual 
services  for  a  definite  money  payment,  and  in  time 
manage  to  free  themselves  from  even  that  payment. 
In  the  case  of  the  town  of  Leicester  there  is  still  pre- 
served the  quit-claim  deed  of  Earl  Robert,  given  in 
1 190. 

And  even  in  cases  where  they  were  still  held  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  a  superior,  the  townsmen  would 
quite  naturally  wish  to  form  some  organization  to  gov- 
ern themselves  in  matters  of  trade,  and  in  general  to 
watch  over  their  interest.  They  could  only  copy  after 
some  model  with  which  they  were  familiar;  that  is  to 
say,  with  tribal  society,  with  the  gens.     All  the  mem- 


THE    DEVELOPMENT    OF    TOWNS.  129 

bers  of  a  gens  regarded  themselves  as  brothers,  they 
had  rights  and  duties  in  common ;  they  were  bound  to 
afford  help  to  their  brothers  in  time  of  danger;  in 
heathen  times  they  had  their  common  gods,  or  relig- 
ious rights ;  they  met  together  on  festive  occasions 
and  partook  of  a  common  meal.  The  townsmen  or- 
ganized an  artificial  gens.  The  names  of  such  an 
organization  was  gild.  This  word  gild  meant,  accord- 
ing to  Bretano,  in  the  first  place  the  sacrificial  meal 
made  up  ot  the  common  contributions,  thence  it  came 
to  mean  a  sacrificial  banquet  in  general,  and  lastly  a 
society. 

Artificial  societies  of  this  kind  had  existed  from 
time  immemorial.  All  ancient  schools  of  philosophy, 
all  religious  mysteries,  even  Christianity  itself,  was 
formed  on  such  models.  It  was  the  only  kind  of  or- 
ganization known.  In  the  tenth  century  we  begin  to 
find  abundant  references  to  such  organizations  in 
towns.  Since  they  had  been  called  into  existence  by 
the  exigencies  of  trade  they  were  called  merchants 
gilds.  Each  gild  was  presided  over  by  an  elected 
Alderman,  with  a  few  assistants  known  as  wardens, 
and  sometimes  there  were  stewards  also.  The  Alder- 
man was  assisted  in  his  duties  by  a  council. 

Gilds  of  this  nature  had  undoubtedly  been  in  ex- 
istence in  England  before  the  Norman  conquest.  They 
became  very  common,  however,  in  the  century  follow- 
ing. As  in  the  earlier  ages,  it  was  an  inseparable 
right  of  a  member  of  a  village  community  to  work  a 


130   A    THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS. 

share  of  the  common  land,  and  as  a  consequence  vil- 
lagers were  all  land-holders,  so  in  the  earlier  gilds, 
only  the  possessors  of  town  land  could  be  members, 
but  this  of  course  included  nearly  all  the  people. 
There  was  a  pressure  brought  to  bear  on  all  eligible 
members  to  join.  In  some  cases  new  members  were 
sworn  to  inform  the  gild  of  town  traders  able  to  join 
the  association  who  did  not  do  so.  In  snch  cases 
some  pressure  would  be  brought  to  bear  and  he  would 
be  subject  to  repeated  fines  until  he  joined.  Both 
privileges  and  duties  attached  to  them  as  members  of 
a  gild. 

If  a  member  of  a  gild  was  slain  it  was  his  gild 
that  endeavored  to  bring  his  assailant  to  justice.  But 
if  a  gild-brother  was  the  slayer  then  his  gild  would 
afford  him  legal  protection,  and  see  that  he  was  not 
unjustly  convicted.  Similarly,  if  in  any  manner  of 
trouble  he  could  count  on  the  assistance  of  his  gild. 
If  a  gildman  of  Southampton  were  put  in  prison  in 
any  part  of  England,  the  alderman  and  the  steward 
and  one  of  the  wardens  were  bound  to  go  at  the  cost 
of  the  gild  to  procure  his  deliverance.  At  Berwick, 
members  of  the  gild  were  bound  to  labor  on  behalf 
of  a  member  in  danger  of  loosing  life  or  limb.  It  is 
on  record  how,  when  all  the  Flemings  were  arrested 
in  London,  one  was  ordered  discharged  by  the  king 
because  the  gild  of  Lynn  claimed  him  as  a  member. 
Sick  gildmen  were  visited  and  wine  and  food  sent  to 
them  from  the  feast.     Brethren  who  had  fallen  into 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   TOWNS.  131 

poverty  were  relieved.  In  casev  of  death  the  brethren 
saw  that  he  was  fittingly  buried.  Only  members  of 
the  gild  could  engage  in  trade,  excepting  that  in  the 
sale  of  provisions  all  were  at  liberty. 

We  can  see  that  the  time  would  arrive  in  all 
towns  at  all  prosperous,  when  such  an  intelligent  and 
organized  body  of  citizens  as  the  gild  brethren  would 
seek  on  various  pretenses  to  free  themselves  from 
their  feudal  lords.  Long  before  the  isolated  village 
communities  felt  this  impulse  the  towns,  enlivened  by 
trade,  brought  in  contact  with  the  outside  world,  found 
the  yoke  of  a  feudal  lord  galling.  Then,  as  now, 
money  could  accomplish  wonders.  At  the  time  of  the 
crusades  the  feudal  nobles  were  extremely  anxious  to 
raise  money,  and  especially  was  this  the  case  during 
the  reign  of  Richard  I.,  and  still  more  when  it  became 
necessary  to  raise  his  ransom.  It  was  at  such  times 
that  many  towns  held  out  the  bribe  of  a  good  sum  of 
money  to  be  freed  of  their  feudal  obligations  Simi- 
larly in  the  case  of  towns  subject  to  the  king,  the  taxes 
which  were  due  to  the  king  were  assumed  by  the  town 
in  consideration  of  local  self-government. 

Hence  the  steps  by  which  the  various  towns  freed 
themselves  varied  in  each  case.  The  opportunities 
which  came  to  the  one  were  not  available  to  another, 
or  the  townsmen  were  not  rich  enough  or  shrewd 
enough  to  seize  them.  Liberties  once  obtained  it  was 
generally  thought  wise  to  have  them  confirmed  by 
charter  from  the  king,  and  to  be  still  more  secure  the 


132  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  TOWNS.       x 

towns  often  felt  themselves  obliged  to  pay  a  fine,  or  a 
bribe,  to  a  new  king,  to  have  him  confirm  the  privi- 
leges granted  by  his  predecessors.  Late  in  the 
eleventh  century  we  find  examples  of  royal  charters 
granted  by  Henry  I.  Such  privileges  had  been  won 
by  one  hundred  and  fifty  towns  in  the  thirteenth  cent- 
ury. It  is  to  be  noticed  that  in  all  chartered  towns  the 
gild  merchant  was  given  a  legal  standing,  but  the 
association  itself  had  doubtless  existed  long  before. 

Having  paid  a  good  round  sum  for  their  privilege, 
it  was  but  natural  that  the  townsmen  should  not  be 
willing  to  let  ontsiders  enjoy  them.  There  was  no 
such  a  thing  as  a  citizen  removing  from  one  town  to 
another  to  engage  in  business.  Not  at  all.  Town 
privileges  were  a  valuable  right,  not  open  to  every 
comer.  A  citizen  of  one  town  might  indeed  be  elected 
a  member  of  a  gild  in  another,  but  that  was  a  great 
favor.  Neither  are  we  to  understand  that  the  privi- 
leges of  all  towns  were  the  same,  they  varied  accord- 
ing to  the  circumstances  of  each  case.  But  in  process 
of  time  when  the  good  features  of  certain  charters 
were  generally  acknowledged,  the  citizens  of  towns, 
when  about  to  be  granted  a  charter,  would  often  make 
request  for  a  charter  like  that  of  some  well  known 
place.  Thus  we  know  that  the  men  of  Gloucester  of- 
fered John  two  hundred  marks  for  the  customs,  laws 
and  liberties  of  Winchester.  In  this  manner  the  cus- 
toms  of  London  were  gradually  extended  over  a  very 
large  area. 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS.  133 

While  it  is  true  that  the  gild  merchant  included 
in  the  first  instance  the  majority  of  the  citizens  of  a 
town,  it  did  not  include  all,  neither  was  it  true  that  all 
the  government  of  a  town  was  in  its  hands.  It  is  of 
course  clear  that  when  a  body  of  men  were  recognized 
as  competent  to  regulate  matters  of  trade,  they  might 
safely  be  trusted  with  the  lesser  details  of  government. 
We  must  remember  that  in  the  ranks  of  the  gild  mer- 
chant would  be  found  the  "  solid  "  men  of  the  town, 
those  financially  responsible,  therefore  its  suggestions 
would  have  great  weight.  The  gild  had  also  its  own 
courts,  and  as  far  as  possible,  it  endeavored  to  settle 
disputes  between  its  own  members,  The  extent  and 
power  of  their  jurisdiction  varied  according  to  time  and 
place.  All  these  features  made  the  gild  the  great  in- 
stitution of  medieval  towns,  though  at  the  same  time 
it  was  something  quite  distinct  from  the  town  itself. 

It  is  well  to  pause  and  try  and  obtain  a  clear  con- 
ception of  life  in  England  during,  say  the  twelfth  cent- 
ury, before  the  rise  of  the  craft-gilds  to  which  we  will 
refer  soon.  By  a  comparison  of  figures  already  given 
it  will  be  seen  that  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  the 
population  was  rural,  the  town  population  was  rela- 
tively very  small.  There  were  but  two  principal  classes 
of  people  below  the  nobility,  agriculturalists  and  mer- 
chants ;  and  in  even  this  latter  class  the  holding  of 
lands  was  in  many  cases  a  necessary  step  to  being  a 
full  member  of  the  gild  merchant.  We  have  dwelt 
with  a  good  deal  of  minutiae  on  the  life  of  the  agricul- 


134  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS. 

turalists.  The  inhabitants  of  the  various  towns  were 
also  in  agricultural  pursuits.  But  they  had  their  es- 
pecial organization,  their  gild.  They  had  already 
shaken  off  many  of  the  claims  of  their  feudal  lord.  As 
yet,  however,  there  was  not,  properly  speaking,  an 
English  nation,  that  is  to  say,  a  united  body  of  people 
having  the  same  laws  and  customs.  While  a  great 
many  laws  were  the  same  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
still  a  little  research  will  show  us  that  local  customs 
largely  ruled.  In  case  a  tax  was  ordered  to  defray 
government  expenses,  some  towns  paid  more  than 
others,  some,  owing  to  the  terms  on  which  they  held 
their  land,  were  free.  The  merchants  of  some  towns 
were  free  of  toll,  passage  and  other  customs,  through- 
out all  England,  as  in  case  of  the  Cinque  Ports,  others 
free  only  in  certain  sections,  as  the  men  of  Beverly  and 
York,  who  were  free  from  tolls  in  Yorkshire.  We 
must  remember  further  there  was  the  greatest  jealousy 
between  the  towns.  A  merchant  of  one  town  was 
not  free  to  .do  business  in  another.  The  Norwich 
merchant  who  visited  London  was  as  much  of  a  for- 
eigner there  as  the  man  from  Bruges  or  Rouen.  This 
is  illustrated  in  a  curious  way  by  two  official  letters  of 
the  fourteenth  century.  In  the  one  the  authorities  of 
London  ask  the  authorities  of  Gloucester  to  compel  a 
citizen  of  that  place  to  pay  a  debt  to  a  citizen  ol  Lon- 
don. A  second  letter  is  from  the  authorities  of  a 
small  town  in  the  Netherlands,  acquainting  the  London 
Burgomasters  that  a  citizen  of  their  town  had  acceded 


THE   DEVELOPMENT    OF    TOWNS.  135 

to  their  request  and  paid  a  debt  owing  in  London. 
Although  one  of  these  towns  was  but  a  short  distance 
away  and  in  their  own  country,  while  the  other  was  in 
the  Netherlands,  yet  the  method  of  procedure  was  the 
same  to  collect  a  debt  owing  to  a  citizen  of  London. 
A  word  must  now  be  given  to  foreign  trade.  In 
spite  of  the  many  difficulties  before  them,  merchants 
from  a  distance  were  anxious  to  trade  in  England ; 
and  on  the  other  hand,  the  English  people  wished  to 
obtain  their  wares.  But  here  was  the  trouble,  the  for- 
eigners wanted  to  live  according  to  their  own  rules, 
and  to  settle  their  own  disputes  according  to  their  own 
customs,  they  wanted  a  place  where  they  could  live 
and  store  their  goods  and  not  be  at  the  mercy  of  Eng- 
lish hosts.  In  a  word,  wherever  they  were  in  any 
numbers  they  wanted  to  form  a  gild  or  hanse — for  it 
seems  that  word  was  synonymous  with  gild — of  their 
own.  There  was  only  one  way  to  secure  such  a  privi- 
lege, that  was  to  buy  a  charter  of  the  king,  and  such 
hanses  were  only  to  be  found  in  a  few  larger  cities  like 
London.  It  seems  that  traders  from  Frankfort  and 
from  Mainz,  known  as  "men  of  the  Emperor,"  had 
secured  privileges  in  London  as  early  as  the  time  of 
King  Ethelred  in  the  tenth  century.  In  the  twelfth 
century  the  merchants  of  Cologne  gained  great  privi- 
leges from  Henry  II.  It  was  especially  provided  that 
they  were  to  be  protected  as  his  own  men  in  their 
merchandise,  possessions  and  house  in  London.  When 
Richard  was  returning  from  his  captivity  he  stopped 


136       THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS. 

at  Cologne,  and  granted  them  still  other  privileges. 
They  were  to  pay  two  shillings  yearly  for  their  gild- 
hall  in  London,  and  they  were  to  be  free  of  all  tolls 
and  customs  in  the  city,  and  also  to  be  free  to  buy  and 
sell  at  fairs  throughout  the  land.  The  men  of  Lubeck, 
Hamburg,  and  the  Flemish  merchants  all  had  gilds  of 
their  own.  The  Steelyard  was  the  name  of  a  noted 
house  of  the  German  merchants. 

These  foreign  gilds  endeavored  to  protect  their 
numbers  from  illegal  exactions,  and  to  settle  disputes 
between  themselves  according  to  their  own  customs. 
But  there  were  many  feuds  to  be  settled  between  them 
and  the  authorities  of  London,  or  the  city  where  they 
might  be  located,  for  London  was  not  the  only  place 
where  they  were  found.  Thus  for  instance  one  of  the 
principal  obligations  of  the  Cologne  merchants  in< 
London  was  to  keep  in  repair  the  city  gate,  known  as 
the  "  Bishop's  gate."  They  subsequently  became 
careless  in  this  matter,  and  the  city  authorities  threat- 
ened to  distrain  them.  Whereupon  they  made  repairs 
and  promised  faithful  compliance  in  the  future.  Among 
the  perils  of  foreign  trade  at  that  time  we  might  men- 
tion the  danger  of  reprisal.  Thus  Edward  III.  owed 
a  certain  Flemish  noble  one  hundred  pounds.  The 
king  refused  to  pay  it,  whereupon  the  property  of  an 
entirely  innocent  English  merchant,  doing  business  in 
Flanders,  was  seized  for  the  same.  The  fact  is,  it 
had  been  quite  a  common  custom  to  hold  a  man  com- 
ing  from  another  town,   whether   from  England   or 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS.         137 

abroad,  responsible  for  the  debts  incured  by  any  of 
his  fellow  townsmen. 

We  have  all  read  more  or  less  of  the  great  fairs 
held  in  certain  parts  of  Russia,  especially  at  Novgorod. 
The  fair  during  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries 
was  a  most  important  means  of  carrying  on  trade ; 
nearly  every  important  town  holding  one  or  more  fairs 
near  it  during  the  year.  Thus  at  Cambridge  there 
were  four  annual  fairs.  By  far  the  greater  part  of  the 
internal  commerce  of  the  country  was  carried  on  at 
fairs.  There  imported  articles  would  be  taken  for  sale, 
and  there  merchants  from  a  distance  met  for  traffic. 
It  furnished  a  market  in  which  goods  not  to  be  found 
in  the  ordinary  town  market  could  be  obtained  cheaper 
than  in  any  other  place  at  that  time,  except,  perhaps 
in  London,  it  was  not  possible  to  get  foreign  produce 
— excepting  wine — at  a  reasonable  rate.  But  such 
produce  could  be  obtained  at  fairs.  "  Nothing,"  says 
Prof.  Rogers,  "was  too  cumbrous  or  too  costly  for  a 
medieval  fair,  for  if  the  dealer  did  not  find  customers 
here,  he  could  find  them  nowheres  else.  It  was  fre- 
quented by  noble  and  serf,  by  churchman  and  soldier, 
by  merchant  or  trader  and  peasant,  by  monk  and  crafts- 
man. And  it  was  at  these  gatherings,  a  veritable  par- 
liament of  the  people,  that  discontent  ripened  into 
action,  that  doings  in  church  and  state  were  discussed, 
that  Straw  and  Ball  laid  their  plans,  and  the  Lollards 
whispered  their  doubts." 

The  franchise  or  the  right  to  hold  a  fair  was,  if 


138         THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS. 

the  fair  wat  at  all  noted,  a  very  valuable  one.  The 
owner  of  such  a  franchise  exacted  a  toll  on  all  that  was 
sold,  and  during  the  continuance  of  the  fair  the  mer- 
chants in  town  were  forbidden,  under  penalty  of  a  fine, 
to  expose  any  goods  for  sale  except  within  the  fair. 
Weights  and  measures  were  tested,  and  a  court — 
called,  expressively,  the  court  of  pie-powder ,  that  is 
the  court  of  the  dusty  feet,  in  allusion  to  those  who 
had  come  a  long  distance  to  the  fair — was  established 
to  settle  on  the  spot,  without  appeal,  all  disputes  that 
might  arise. 

Prof.  Thorold  Rogers  has  given  such  an  interest- 
ing account  of  the  great  fair  held  at  Stourbridge  whose 
reputation  extended  all  over  Europe,  that  we  will 
make  liberal  extracts  from  it.  It  was  held  near  Cam- 
bridge. Proclamation  was  made  the  fourth  of  Sep- 
tember, and  the  fair  proper  opened  the  sixth  and 
continued  three  weeks.  The  space,  or  fair  ground  as 
we  would  say,  was  in  area  about  half  a  square  mile. 
It  was  divided  into  streets,  lined  with  temporary 
wooden  buildings  or  booths*  The  streets  received 
distinctive  names,  and  in  each  some  special  trade  was 
carried  on.  During  the  last  week  of  the  fair  the 
principal  business  was  the  sale  of  horses.  Purchasers 
frequented  the  fair  from  all  parts  of  England,  indeed 
there  were  but  few  families  possessed  of  any  wealth 
which  did  not  make  purchases  at  this  fair.  Near  the 
close  of  the  fair  strings  of  wagons  loaded  with  goods 
were  dispatched  from  thence  to  all  parts  of  the  country. 


THE    DEVELOPMENT   OF   TOWNS.  139 

As  the  time  approached  for  the  holding  of  the 
fair,  the  eastern  harbors  of  England  were  filled  with 
vessels  from  foreign  lands.  The  Italian  cities  sent 
their  galleys  laden  with  silks  and  velvets,  glass  and 
jewelry  from  the  Orient.  The  Flemish  manufacturer 
brought  their  linens,  lawns  and  woolens  from  Bruges, 
Liege  and  Ghent.  The  Spaniard  brought  iron  and 
wine  ;  the  Norwegian  tar  and  pitch.  The  merchants 
of  the  towns  composing  the  Hanseatic  league  brought 
furs,  amber  and  copper.  Sometimes  they  brought  far 
more  valuable  goods,  since  the  precious  stones  and 
gems  of  the  East  found  their  way  very  readily  to  the 
West  through  the  markets  of  Russia. 

In  the  twelfth  century,  we  find  another  class 
of  gilds  becoming  very  common,  which  shows  us 
that  another  step  in  the  line  of  progress  had  been 
taken.  We  have  seen  that  at  first  all  the  people  ex- 
cept the  nobility  were  agriculturalists,  we  have  seen 
the  rise  of  merchants  corresponding  to  the  rise  of 
towns.  We  have  now  to  outline  the  rise  of  a  class  of 
laborers,  or  artizans,  and  manufacturers.  In  the  first 
stage  manufacture  was  in  the  hand  of  each 
family.  The  men  tanned  the  leather,  the  women 
spun  and  wove  the  cloth.  But  that  age  was  now 
past.  The  time  had  come  when  men  could  profitably 
devote  all  their  time  to  the  manufacture  of  certain 
articles,  as  cloth,  leather,  etc.  This  introduced  a  new 
element  into  the  social  problem  of  the  day. 

Undoubtedly,  in  the   first   stage,   the  merchants 


140        THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS. 

gild,  including  as  it  did,  nearly  all  townsmen,  con- 
tained in  its  ranks  also  those  who  followed  special 
crafts  or  trades.  We  know,  for  instance  that  at  New 
Castle  the  members  of  the  gild  merchant  did  engage 
in  "the  manufacture  of  cloth.  But  various  causes  was 
at  work  tending  to  exclude  the  artisan  or  workman. 
In  the  first  place  human  nature  was  much  as  it  is  now. 
As  trade  increased  and  the  merchant  class  gained  in 
wealth,  pride  awoke  and  the  merchants  ceased  to 
have  as  friendly  feeling  as  formerly  for  those  who 
deigned  to  work  with  their  own  hands.  So  the  time  at 
length  came  when  they  felt  strong  enough  to  refuse 
admittance  to  their  gild  to  an  artisan  unless  he  would 
adjure  his  craft,  we  know  this  to  bave  been  the  case 
at  Winchester,  Marlborough  and  Beverly,  in  England. 
In  some  places  butchers  and  dyers  were  excluded  if 
they  worked  themselves.  How  to  detect  such. workers 
was  pointed  out  in  the  ordinance  forbidding  admission 
to  those  "  with  dirty  hands  "  or  "  blue  nails." 

But  another  cause  was  at  work.  In  the  majority 
of  cases  the  first  inhabitants  of  towns  were  also  land- 
holders. So  important  was  this  felt  to  be  that  hold- 
ing of  land  was  a  pre-requisite  to  membership  in  the 
gild,  merchant.  But  a  class  of  landless  inhabitants 
had  arisen  in  all  towns.  Owing  largely  to  the  natural 
increase  of  the  town  population  itself,  though  undoubt- 
edly greatly  helped  by  the  influx  of  villans  from  the 
neighboring  manors.  It  was  an  old  principle  that  if  a 
villan  resided  in  a  town  for  a  year  and  a  day  he  was 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   TOWNS.  141 

free  from  his  lord.  Now  this  landless  class  could  not 
be  regarded  as  citizens  of  the  town,  they  were  conse- 
quently denied  admission  to  the  gild,  and  could  not 
engage  in  trade.  They  could  only  turn  their  atten- 
tion to  labor,  and  so  engage  in  handicraft. 

To  be  denied  admission  into  the  gild  merchant 
from  any  source  was  practically  to  be  denied  a  share 
in  local  self-government-  But  as  time  passed  on  the 
number  and  importance  of  artisans  increased.  They 
adopted  for  themselves  the  only  expedient  they  knew 
of  under  the  circumstances,  and  organized  a  gild  of 
their  own.  Thus  craft  gilds  arose  which  have  often 
been  called  the  first  labor-unions.  There  was  for  a 
while  a  great  deal  of  ill-feeling  between  the  craft 
gilds  and  the  older  gild  merchant.  But  they  pursued 
the  ordinary  course  of  the  times  and  bought  their 
charters  from  the  kings.  The  granting  of  these  char- 
ters, which  conferred  on  the  various  bodies  of  craft- 
men  certain  powers  in  organizing  their  trades,  led  at 
first  to  considerable  friction  between  them  and  the 
town  authorities.  In  some  cases  they  felt  themselves 
strong  enough  to  defy  the  authorities.  There  was  a 
notable  case  of  this  kind  at  Exeter,  when  the  tailors 
gild  thought  themselves  at  liberty  by  the  terms  of  their 
charter  to  set  up  an  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  their 
own,  and  to  deny  the  right  of  the  town  to  interfere  in 
their  matters. 

Now  if  we  will  pause  to  consider  the  matter,  we 
will  see  that  those  artisans  or  laborers  engaged  in 


142  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS. 

meeting  the  most  elementary  wants  would  be  the  first 
to  make  their  appearance.  Such,  for  instance,  as 
weaving.  The  manufacture  of  cloth  and  clothing 
would  be  about  the  first  one  in  which  the  increasing 
demands  of  consumers  would  make  it  worth  while  for 
men  to  turn  their  whole  attention.  We  know  that 
as  early  as  1130  there  were  gilds  of  weavers  in 
London,  Lincoln  and  Oxford.  Their  example  was 
rapidly  imitated,  and  we  find  gilds  of  tailors,  gold- 
smiths, butchers,  leather  dressers,  etc.  As  stated, 
such  gilds  paid  an  annual  tax  to  the  king  for  their 
charter  or  privileges.  The  general  principles  on 
which  gilds  were  formed  were  much  the  same  as  the 
older  gild  merchant. 

The  executive  officers  were  styled  wardens,  over' 
seers,  builders  or  masters.  Their  duty  was  to  super- 
vise the  industry  and  cause  offenders  to  be  punished. 
They  were  elected  annually  at  full  assemblies  of  the 
members.  In  general  the  charters  provided  that  no 
one  was  to  work  at  the  craft  who  had  not  been  ap- 
proved and  admitted  to  the  gild.  They  had  a  court 
in  which  they  dealt  with  disputes  between  their  mem- 
bers.  The  powers  of  such  courts  varied  at  different 
places.  Those  of  London  had  usually  quite  extensive 
jurisdiction.  However,  in  general  the  authority  of  the 
towns  were  recognized.  The  town  authorities  could 
of  course  issue  ordinances  binding  on  the  gilds,  but 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  towns  were  in  sympathy  with 
the  gilds,  and  ordinances  bearing   upon   them  were 


THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF   TOWNS.  143 

framed  by  the  gild  officials    and  enacted   into  ordi- 
nances as  a  matter  of  course  by  the  town  councils. 

Now,  if  we  will  reflect,  we  will   see  that   there 
were  several  reasons  why  the  gilds  should  continue  to 
grow.     In  a  certain  sense  they  formed  a  counterpoise 
to  the  authority  of  the  towns.     With  the  limited  but 
none  the  less  real  authority  over  their  members,  their 
chartered  privileges,  they  could  but  feel  themselves  as 
something  distinct  from  the  towns.     It  was  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  king  to  put  himself  on  their  side.   This 
was  accordingly  the  policy  of  the  king  from  the  time 
of  Edward  I.  to  favor  them.     Afterwards  the  towns 
themselves  favored  them,  because,  after  all,  the  town 
was  stronger  than  the  gilds,  and  by  having  the  va- 
rious gilds   exercising   a  sort  of  general  supervision 
over  labor    and   those  engaged  in  it,  a  good  deal  of 
police  duty  was   taken   off  the   town.     So  we  find  the 
town  insisting  that  laborers  should  form  themselves  in 
a  gild.     In   1356  the  masons  were  compelled  to  thus 
organize  "  because  that  their  trade  had  not  been  reg- 
ulated in  due  manner  by  the  government  of  folk  of 
their  trade,  in  such  manner  as  other  trades  are."     A 
few  years  later   it   was   complained  of  the  wax-chan- 
dlers that  "their  trade  has  not  been  ruled  and  governed 
heretofore,  and  there  still  is  great  scandal,    ..... 
because  they  have   not   masters  chosen  of  said  trade, 
and  sworn  before  you,  as  other  trades  have  to  oversee 
the  defaults  that  are  committed  in  their  said  trade." 

The  fourteenth  century  may  be  said  to  mark  the 


144  THE   DEVELOPMENT   OF  TOWNS. 

most  flourishing  era  of  the  gilds.  Nearly  every  trade, 
in  large  towns  at  least,  was  organized,  but  the  ap- 
prentices and  journeymen  had  gilds  ol  their  own. 
These  latter  gilds,  however,  call  for  nothing  special 
in  their  treatment.  It  is  well,  before  turning  to  the 
gradual  decline  of  the  gilds,  to  consider  some  of  the 
general  aims  proposed  to  be  attained  by  this  form  of 
organization.  Medieval  society  could  not  forget  the 
model  from  which  it  sprung.  The  theory  of  tribal 
society  was  that  the  little  groups  into  which  it  was 
separated  were  joined  by  ties  of  blood,  and  conse- 
quently there  must  be  brotherly  feelings  and  actions 
between  them.  So  the  professed  object  of  the  gilds 
was  to  secure  competent  workmen,  good  materials 
and  fair  price.  Competition  was  not  the  ruling  spirit 
of  the  age-  Goods  failing  to  come  up  to  the  stand- 
ard of  excellence  set  by  the  gild  were  said  to  be 
"  false  "  goods,  and- the  makers  of  such  work  were 
punished  by  fines,  and  even  by  expulsion  if  they  per- 
sisted in  such  conduct.  Penalties  were  provided  for 
all  sorts  of  deceitful  devices  so  well  known  to-day, 
such  as  putting  the  better  wares  on  top  of  a  bale 
than  below,  moistening  groceries  so  as  to  make  them 
heavier,  selling  second-hand  furs  for  new,  etc. 

The  decay  of  the  gild  system  need  not  detain  us 
long.  It  declined  to  give  place  to  a  new  system  of 
industry,  the  capitalistic  system  to  which  we  will  soon 
refer.  If  we  will  stop  and  reflect,  we  will  see  that 
during  the   fifteenth  century  a  wonderful  change  was 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TOWNS.         145 

going  forward  in  industrial  life  as  well  as  in  other  di- 
rections. The  English  people  were  becoming  consol- 
idated so  as  to  form  a  nation.  Local  customs  and 
local  laws  were  giving  place  to  laws  national  in  their 
extent.  Towns  were  losing  their  especial  privileges. 
With  the  decay  of  the  towns,  or  with  the  loss  of  their 
privileges,  it  is  but  natural  that  the  gilds  should  go 
also.  They  had  served  their  turn  in  the  industrial 
life  of  the  nation.  They  had  been  called  into  being 
by  the  exigencies  of  the  times,  they  had  been  instru- 
mental in  advancing  trade,  nourishing  manufacture, 
and  thus  furthering  civilization.  But  a  new  day  was 
now  at  hand.  What  that  was,  we  will  learn  in  the 
next  chapter. 

We  hope  the  readers  begins  to  obtain  clearer  ideas 
of  the  great  changes  that  have  taken  place  in  past 
times  in  the  social  structure.  Tribal  society  is  a  most 
interesting  field ;  to  understand  it  is  to  have  in  our 
possession  the  key  to  unlock  much  that  seems  strange 
to  us  in  past  times.  The  gild  system  is  seen  to  be 
an  intermediate  stage  between  tribal  society  proper 
and  modern  society.  Slowly,  extending  over  some 
centuries  of  time,  the  change  went  forward  from  the 
one  form  of  social  life  to  the  other.  Vain  was  the 
attempt  in  the  past  to  prevent  these  social  changes 
from  marching  steadily  forward,  vain  will  be  the  at- 
tempt to  prevent  changes  in  the  future.  When  any 
form  of  social  growth  has  outgrown  its  period  of  use- 
fulness, society  will  cast  it  off. 


146 


CAPITALIST   PRODUCTION. 


COPTER  Y- 

CAPITALIST   PRODUCTION. 

Progress  of  the  15th  Century — A  New  Industrial  Age — The 
New  Spirit  of  Nationality — Social  Changes — The  Age  of  Capital — 
Definition  of  Capital — The  New  Power  of  Capital — Primitive 
Equality  as  regards  Capital — Capital  the  Master  — Economic  Goods 
— Definition  of  Value — Use-Value — Exchange  Value — On  What 
Exchange  Value  Depends — Depends  on  Labor — Surplus  Value — ■ 
Division  of  Surplus   Value  Between  Capital  and  Labor — Labor  a 

F^%^  fllL  Commodity — The  Exchange  Value  of  Labor 
— Conclusion. 


DARK  AGES  in  history  were  rap- 
idly passing  away  in  the  fifteenth 

century.     This  was  one  of  the  great 

epoch  marking  centuries  of  history. 

In  1453  the  Turks  took  Constanti- 
nople, and  the  last  trace  of  the  Roman 
Empire  disappeared ;  as  is  well  known 
this  gave  a  great  impetus  to  the  revival  of  learning  in 
Europe,  It  also  cut  off  the  old  trade  routes  to  the 
East,  and  thus  made  the  nations  of  Western  Europe 
extremely  anxious  to  find  some  new  means  of  reaching 
the  shores  of  India.  Responding  to  this  demand  we 
find  the  Genoese  navigator  sailing  on  his  memorable 
voyage  which  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the  new 
world.     Not  alone  did  this  result  in  giving  a  wonder- 


TRIUMPH    OF   CAPITAL. 


147 


CAPITALIST    PRODUCTION.  149 

ful  stimulus  to  the  advance  then  rapidly  going  forward, 
but  in  a  few  years  commenced  the  wonderful  flow  of 
gold  and  silver  to  Europe  which  enormously  stimulated 
trade  and  commerce.  These  events  were  followed  by 
the  discovery  of  the  cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  the  new 
route  to  India. 

Geographical  discoveries  was  but  one  of  the  many 
directions  in  which  progress  was  going  forward.  Think 
for  a  moment  of  the  almost  magical  results  following 
from  the  invention  of  printing.  In  earlier  times  only 
the  very  rich  could  afford  the  luxury  of  a  book ;  with 
this  invention  perfected,  books  could  be  procured  by 
all.  How  quickly  the  intellect  of  Europe  responded 
to  the  new  condition  is  shown  by  the  increasing  num- 
ber of  universities.  During  the  fifteenth  century 
nearly  every  important  city  of  Europe  became  the  seat 
of  a  university  which  was  thronged  with  students. 
The  inactivity  of  the  past  was  shaken  off,  the  intellect 
of  Europe  eagerly  invaded  fields  from  which  it  had 
been  debarred  by  ecclesiastical  authority  in  earlier 
times.  Coiet,  Erasmus  and  Moore  in  England  were 
discrediting  the  learning  of  the  past,  and  pointing  the 
way  to  new  methods  of  research.  Copernicus,  Gesner 
and  Paracelus  were  active  in  scientific  fields.  Luther, 
Melancthon,  Zwingli  and  Calvin  were  preaching  a  ref- 
ormation in  religion. 

It  would  indeed  have  been  passing  strange  if  this 
almost  revolution  in  religion,  philosophy  and  science, 
this  great  revival  of  learning,  the  wonderful  increase 


150  CAPITALIST   PRODUCTION. 

in  geographical  knowledge,  and  augmentation  of  ma- 
terial riches  had  not  been  accompanied  by  a  change 
in  national  feeling,  the  final  overthrow  of  methods  of 
procedure,  and  institutions  growing  out  of  the  organi- 
zation of  tribal  society.  In  short,  out  of  such  changing 
conditions  as  we  have  set  forth,  gradually  emerged 
modern  industrial  life.  We  must  understand,  however, 
that  as  naturally  as  a  shrub  grows  into  a  tree  so  did 
the  new  forms  of  national  and  political  economy  shape 
themselves  from  what  had  gone  before. 

Let  us  notice  first  the  changed  ideas  as  to  the 
nation.  Tribal  society  consists  of  groups.  All  rights 
and  duties  were  in  groups.  It  was  therefore  not  sur- 
prising to  find  the  English  village  community  living 
an  isolated  life,  having  but  little  communication,  one 
with  another,  and  with  the  most  diversified  customs. 
Each  community  being  in  a  sense  a  law  unto  itself. 
Similarly  when  towns  arose  each  was  isolated  from 
the  others.  Rights  and  duties  were  owing  their  town 
and  townsmen,  not  to  the  people  generally.  A  man 
from  another  town  was  an  alien.  There  were  also 
extremely  diversified  customs.  Similarly  in  the  days 
of  the  gilds,  a  man  owed  loyalty  to  his  gild.  To  it  he 
looked  for  protection  and  assistance;  He  was  not, 
however,  particularly  concerned  in  the  welfare  of  other 
gilds.  There  were,  of  course,  laws  binding  on  the 
whole  people,  they  acknowledged  the  rule  of  the  king 
and  parliament,  they  were  taxed  for  the  expenses  of 
the  nation,  they  had  a  certain   amount    of   national 


CAPITALIST   PRODUCTION.  151 

pride;  but  after  all  the  honest  feelings  of  the  people 
were  local  and  sectional. 

When  the  larger  life  of  modern  times  dawned, 
with  the  disappearance  of  the  village  communities,  the 
gradual  break  down  of  the  gild  system,  a  more  correct 
idea  of  nationality  was  formed.  The  mental  horizon 
of  the  times  became  wider.  Men  looked  beyond  the 
limited  range  of  their  own  locality,  town  or  gild.  This 
phenomena  was  not  confined  to  England.  The  age 
was  noted  as  an  age  of  growth  in  the  feeling  of  nation- 
ality. The  literature  of  the  times  betrays  this  same 
spirit.  Works  appeared  lauding  England.  It  seems 
that  in  the  sixteenth  century  English  writers  com- 
menced the  song  which  they  still  sing,  of  their  na- 
tional wealth,  ships  and  merchandise.  Before  this 
larger  idea  of  nationality,  local  rights  of  towns  had  to 
give  way.  Old  institutions  of  every  kind  in  town  and 
country  rapidly  fell  to  pieces. 

But  that  is  not  all,  the  social  principles  of  the 
earlier  state  of  society  were  being  discarded,  and  new 
ideas  were  taking  their  place.  Medieval  ideas  were 
based  on  the  theory  of  personal  relations.  They  were 
after  all  bands  of  brothers,  there  ought  to  be  a  family 
feeling  in  all  things.  So  attempts  were  made  to  regu- 
late business  of  all  kinds  on  this  basis.  The  price  at 
which  commodities  were  to  be  sold  was  to  be  a  "fair" 
price.  And  in  estimating  what  was  a  fair  price 
reasonable  wages  for  the  laborer  was  one  of  the  first 
and  most  important  items.     An  effort  was  made  to  see 


152  CAPITALIST   PRODUCTION. 

that  the  commodity  offered  was  what  it  claimed  to  be, 
made  of  good  materials,  by  skilled  workmen.  Now, 
at  the  present  day,  we  assume  that  these  ends  will  all 
be  met  by  competition.  If  a  manufacturer  does  not 
use  good  material,  or  if  his  work  is  not  up  to  standard, 
we  assume  that  the  public  will  not  patronize  him. 
Wages,  price  of  commodities  and  things  of  that  nature, 
we  leave  to  be  settled  by  competition.  In  fact,  the 
more  we  study  the  problem  the  more  we  see  what  a 
great  change  was  involved  in  giving  up  the  old  idea 
of  brotherhood  and  personal  relation. 

The  new  condition  of  industrial  life  which  thus 
gradually  supervened  on  the  life  of  the  past  is  known 
by  various  names.  Inasmuch  as  what  is  called  capital 
commenced  to  play  an  important  part  in  production 
and  in  social  life.  It  is  appropriate  to  call  it  the  Age 
of  Capital.  It  is  necessary  to  define  the  word  capital. 
This  word  happens  to  be  one  of  those  of  which  nearly 
all  have  a  fairly  good  idea  of  its  meaning,  but  it  is, 
after  all,  a  hard  one  to  define.  In  proof  of  this  we 
need  only  point  to  the  well  known  fact  that  the  writers 
on  political  economy  nearly  all  disagree  in  their  defi- 
nitions of  it.  More  than  one  recent  writer  has  amused 
himself  by  gathering  the  different  definitions  and 
showing  how  they  disagree.  Let  us  pick  our  way 
with  care.  A  "good"  is  anything  which  is  useful  to 
man,  or  satisfies  a  want,  as  food,  air,  water.  But 
goods  may  be  "  free,"  that  is,  supplied  by  nature  to  all, 
as  air  and  water,  save  in  exceptional  circumstances, 


CAPITALIST    PRODUCTION.  153 

or  they  may  be  economic  goods,  that  is,  goods  which 
are  usually  and  regularly  obtained  only  by  exertions. 
Another  name  for  this  class  of  goods  is  "  commodity." 
Economic  goods  are  usually  styled  wealth.  In  ordi- 
nary language,  however,  wealth  means  a  large  quan- 
tity of  goods.  Now  here  is  the  difficulty :  all  capital 
is  wealth ;  but  the  converse  of  this  is  not  true,  all 
wealth  is  not  capital. 

The  trouble  is  to  mark  off  by  definition  that  por- 
tion of  wealth  which  is  capital.  Capital  is  that  wealth 
whose  value  is  due  to  a  demand  for  it  as  an  element 
in  production.  Here  is  a  factory  full  of  machinery. 
It  is  valuable  because  its  products  are  valuable.  It  is 
capital.  Or  we  may  say  that  capital  is  every  product 
laid  by  for  the  sake  of  further  production.  Suppose 
a  man  is  worth  fifty  thousand  dollars.  Fifteen 
thousand  dollars  of  it  is  invested  in  a  home,  well  fur- 
nished, with  books  and  pictures.  It  is  a  valuable 
possession,  but  it  is  not  devoted  to  production,  it  is 
not  capital.  In  seasons  of  adversity,  it  may  of  course 
be  turned  into  capital,  but  for  the  time  being,  the 
thirty-five  thousand  he  has  invested  in  business  is  his 
capital.  In  spite  of  our  care  in  defining  capital  it 
may  be  difficult  to  decide  in  many  cases  whether  the 
economic  good  is  capital  or  not.  The  majority  of 
writers  do  not  class  land  as  capital.  And  yet  why  is 
it  not  capital  ?  Why  is  not  the  land  on  which  a  fac- 
tory stands  as  much  capital   as  the  building   itself? 

Accordingly  we  find  some  authorities  classing    land 
10 


154  CAPITALIST   PRODUCTION. 

as    capital,    but  the    majority   put   it    to    one    side. 

Now  in  deciding  that  the  new  industrial  age 
might  be  called  the  age  of  capital,  it  is  not  of  course 
meant  that  capital  did  not  exist  long  before.  It  is  as 
old  as  the  idea  of  property  itself.  But  we  mean  that 
capital  began  to  exhibit  a  power  before  unthought  of. 
The  breaking  down  of  medieval  institutions,  the  va- 
rious steps  by  which  the  old  agricultural  system  was 
broken  down,  and  the  land  became  the  private  prop- 
erty of  the  lords,  the  dismissal  of  the  band  of  re- 
tainers and  the  growth  of  population  had  created  an 
army  of  laborers,  and  by  laborers  we  mean  those  who 
have  no  means  of  production  themselves,  who  have 
only  their  own  labor  to  offer  in  the  market.  When 
such  a  state  of  society  arose,  laborers  on  the  one  side 
confronted  by  those  who  owned  the  means  of  produc 
tion  on  the  other — capitalists  in  short — capital  sud- 
denly appeared  clothed  with  a  new  and  terrible  power. 
In  fine,  the  age  of  capitalist  production  had  begun. 

We  have  necessarily  hurried  along.  There  is 
scarcely  a  paragraph  but  what  could  be  enlarged  into 
a  volume.  Let  us  emphasize  the  importance  of  clear- 
ness in  thought  in  regard  to  the  distinction  between 
capital  and  wealth.  Capital  is  the  fruits  ol  past  labor, 
which,  instead  of  being  used  up,  have  been  saved  and 
devoted  to  the  purpose  of  further  production.  No 
one  can  properly  object  to  capital,  even  anarchists  do 
not  object  to  it;  no  one  gifted  with  ordinary  under- 
standing would ;  what  they  do  object  to  is  the  distri- 


CAPITALIST    PRODUCTION.  155 

bution  and  use  of  it.  Progress  has  only  been  made 
by  first  putting  forth  labor,  saving  the  fruits  of  it,  and 
using  them  as  further  assistance  to  labor.  The  sav- 
age who  patiently  hollows  out  a  canoe  to  enable  him 
to  fish  to  better  advantage,  the  barbarian  who  instead 
of  killing  the  young  of  the  animals  he  has  caught  do- 
mesticates them  and  thus  formed  the  neuclus  of  the 
first  flocks  and  herds,  were  creating  capital.  No,  there 
can  not  be  any  objection  to  capital  itself,  but  there 
may  be  to  its  distribution  and  the  exercise  of  the 
power  it  confers. 

We  must  also  clearly  understand  that  while  cap- 
ital has  existed  for  ages,  yet  very  properly  speaking 
the  Age  of  Capital  is  but  recent.  Steam  has  always 
existed  in  the  world.  It  required  a  peculiar  arrange- 
ment of  machinery  and  valves  to  enable  it  to  show 
its  power  and  to  be  put  to  practical  use.  So  it  was 
necessary  that  society  should  reach  a  certain  stage  of 
development  before  capital  could  show  its  power  for 
good  and  for  evil.  There  are  many  writers,  men  of 
distinguished  ability,  who  think  that  capital  is  respon- 
sible for  much  of  the  present  evils  in  the  industrial 
world.  We  repeat,  however,  that  the  objection 
should  be  against  the  abuse,  not  the  use  of  capital. 
Fire  is  a  most  excellent  servant,  we  can  not  dispense 
with  his  services,  as  all  know  he  makes  a  terribls  mas- 
ter. Even  such  is  capital.  If  abuses  exist  which  can 
be  traced  to  capital  it  is  because  we  have  allowed  him 
to  become  master  instead  of  servant.     Let  us  there- 


156  CAPITALIST   PRODUCTION. 

fore  inquire  into  the  history  and  method  of  capitalist 
production. 

In  the  English  village  community,  even  when  the 
chief  had  become  the  athling,  there  was  no  very  great 
diversity  as  regards  capital.  The  geburs  were  all 
substantially  equal.  Though  the  cotters  were  below 
them  in  the  scale,  yet  their  manner  of  life  was  the 
same.  There  was  no  great  gulf  between  them. 
What  capital  was  then  in  existence  was  the  servant  of 
the  people.  The  means  of  production  were  owned 
by  the  people  who  used  them.  There  were  no  ex- 
tremes of  rich  and  poor.  The  lord  was  of  course 
more  powerful,  but  he  also  was  governed  by  custom. 
Only  gradually  as  commutation  payment  came  into 
use,  did  the  lord  accumulate  capital  that  he  could  turn 
to  account  later.  Only  as  the  common  people  lost 
their  hold  on  the  land  did  they  pass  into  wage  earners. 

In  the  gilds  also  capital  was  the  servant  of  the 
people.  There  was  a  regular  road  marked  out  from 
apprentices  to  journeymen,  from  journeymen  to  mas- 
ter. The  tools — the  capital — for  plying  the  craft  were 
but  few  and  simple,  and  were  owned  by  those  using 
them.  Competition  did  not  come  into  play,  the  prices 
and  the  affairs  of  the  craft  were  regulated  by  the  gild. 
The  apprentice  lived  with  the  master  and  all  worked 
together.  There  was  'no  great  difference  between 
them.  The  object  of  ambition  which  the  youthful  ap- 
prentice had  in  mind,  was  not  to  rise  out  of  his  craft, 
but  to  stand  well  in  the  craft,  to  become  master  or 


CAPITALIST    PRODUCTION.  157 

warden.  Take  our  laboring  men  to-day,  and  very 
few  can  hope  to  rise  to  a  high  position.  In  the  best 
days  of  the  gild  system  the  case  was  very  different. 
All  could  reasonably  hope  to  become  masters  after  a 
few  years  work.  There  was  no  collision  between 
labor  and  capital. 

In  fact  capital  did  not  and  could  not  play  the  role 
it  has  played  the  last  century  until  division  into 
classes  had  taken  place.  When  the  agricultural  class 
had  lost  their  claim  to  the  land,  when  the  gild  had 
broken  down,  when  a  mass  of  laboring  men  had  come 
into  existence,  then  the  possessors  of  the  means  of 
production  woke  to  a  realization  of  the  nature  of  the 
powerful  weapon  they  held  in  their  hand.  And  this 
change  was  helped  forward  by  the  new  spirit  of  en- 
terprise and  individuality  which  was  called  into  being 
by  the  revival  of  learning,  the  wonderful  expansion  of 
the  intellectual  horizon,  and  inflow  of  gold  and  silver 
from  the  new  world.  As  Karl  Marx  says,  ''The  mod- 
ern history  of  capital  dates  from  the  creation  in  the 
sixteenth  century  of  a  world  embracing  commerce  and 
a  world  embracing-  market." 

While  we  have  tried  to  be  guarded  in  our  ex- 
pressions and  referred  to  the  "  new  power  oi  capital," 
yet  we  question  if  the  whole  definition  of  capital  is 
not  wrong.  Not  only  is  capital  only  that  part  of  worth 
set  aside  to  assist  in  furthering  production,  but  in 
order  for  it  to  assume  the  form  of  capital,  a  certain 
definite  stage  of  development  must   have  been  gone 


158  CAPITALIST    PKODUCTION. 

through  with.  There  must  in  some  way  have  been 
evolved  this  army  of  free  laborers  on  the  one  side  and 
holders  of  capital  on  the  other.  In  this  sense  capital 
is  a  modern  product,  and  as  such  socialist  writers 
often  refer  to  it,  in  their  ravings  against  capital, 
they  generally  only  mean  this  late  form  and 
power  of  capital,  or,  as  we  have  expressed  it,  when 
it  has  ceased  to  be  the  servant  and  become  the 
master. 

We  can  say  that  the  cleavage  of  society  into 
great  classes,  and  the  accumulation  of  capital  into 
the  hand  of  one  class  exercised  a  reciprocal  influence 
on  each  other.  One  helped  forward  the  other.  With- 
out anticipating  what  can  be  more  appropriately  said 
in  another  place,  is  not  this  the  verdict  of  history  ? 
If  Gladstone  speaks  of  the  "  intoxicating  augmenta- 
tion of  wealth  and  power  "  he  must  also  admit  in  the 
same  speech  that  "  human  life  is  in  the  majority  of 
cases  but  a  struggle  for  existence."  Henry  George's 
apt  illustration  here  strikes  home  :  "  It  is  as  though  an 
immense  wedge  were  being  forced,  not  underneath 
society,  but  through  society.  Those  who  are  above 
the  point  of  separation  are  elevated,  but  those  who 
are  below  are  crushed  down."  This  is  but  the  neces- 
sary logical  outcome  of  tbe  same  course  of  develop- 
ment which  clothed  capital  with  its  great  power.  The 
problem  ahead  of  us  is  to  find  some  means  of  over- 
coming this  tendency.  But  first  we  must  more  care- 
fully consider  the  problem. 


CAPITALIST    PRODUCTION.  159 

We  have  spoken  about  economic  goods.  A  com- 
modity may  be  anything  which  satisfies  some  want. 
It  may  be  a  coat,  a  pair  of  boots,  or  any  one  of  the 
virtually  innumerable  articles  we  may  call  to  mind. 
To  procure  these  goods  is  the  purpose  for  which  or- 
ganized society  exists.  As  man  has  gained  in  knowl- 
edge he  not  only  has  learned  new  ways  of  gratifying 
his  primary  wants,  such  as  food  and  protection,  but 
called  into  being  countless  other  wants,  and  striven  to 
satisfy  them.  Now,  as  in  the  most  primitive  times, 
the  objects  of  man's  exertion  is  to  satisfy  wants.  Some 
of  our  wants  may  be  of  a  very  refined  nature,  and  re- 
quire for  their  gratification  music,  art  and  literature, 
or  they  may  be  coarse  even  degrading  in  their  nature, 
as  the  want  of  strong  drink.  Still  it  remains  true 
that  the  complex  machinery  of  civilization  is  engaged 
in  procuring  ecomic  goods  for  the  satisfaction  of  these 
wants.  Capitalist  production  or  modern  industrial 
life,  then,  is  the  production  of  economic  goods,  by  the 
aid  of  capital,  as  we  have  defined  and  limited  it,  for 
the  satisfaction  of  the  complex  wants  of  modern  times. 
What  the  holders  of  capital  desire  to  do  is  to  reap  a 
profit  in  their  venture.  A  very  simple  and  natural 
desire  this,  and  yet  on  their  ability  to  do  this  hangs 
the  glory  and  misery  of  the  present  system.  Let  us 
now  inquire  into  this. 

What  is  value  ?  If  it  was  hard  to  find  a  suitable 
definition  for  capital,  it  is  still  harder  to  define  value. 
When  we  say  that  a  good   has  value  we    are  talking 


160  CAPITALIST    PRODUCTION. 

about  a  non-corporeal,  something  which  we  can  not 
analyze,  weigh  or  compare.  Part  of  the  trouble  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  there  are  really  two  kinds  of  value. 
It  is  true  that  some  writers  contend  that  these  two 
kinds  of  value  are  in  reality  but  one  ;  still  the  majority 
of  writers,  from  the  days  of  Adam  Smith,  have  recog- 
nized this  division.  There  is  first  the  use-value  of  a 
good.  That  is  the  ability  to  satisfy  direct  needs.  A 
coat  to  keep  us  warm,  a  pair  of  boots  to  protect  our 
feet.  This  is  something  that  depends  on  the  physical 
property  of  the  commodity  that  we  may  be  consider- 
ing. The  only  way  we  can  realize  the  use-value  of  a 
good  is  to  consume  it  or  use  it  up.  We  only  realize 
the  use-value  of  a  pair  of  boots  by  putting  them  on 
and  wearing  them  out. 

It  is  evident  that  the  use-value  of  a  commodity 
is  independent  of  the  amount  of  labor  required  to 
produce  it.  A  bar  of  steel  has  the  same  use-value 
whether  made  by  the  much  more  rapid  Bessemer  proc- 
ess or  the  older  very  long  and  costly  way  from 
wrought  iron.  Use-value  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
price  of  a  good.  Inventions  may  be  so  perfected  to- 
morrow that  a  pair  of  boots  will  cost  only  one-half 
what  they  do  to-day.  Their  use-value  however  will 
remain  the  same.  We  can  quickly  see  that  the  re- 
verse of  this  is  not  true.  If  a  good  had  no  use-value 
we  could  obtain  no  price  for  it.  Sometime  the  use- 
value  of  a  good  is  called  its  utility,  sometimes  the 
word  worth  is  used. 


CAPITALIST    PKODUCTION.  161 

In  addition  to  use-value  we  have  exchange-value. 
By  this  is  meant  the  ratio  in  which  commodities  ex- 
change against  each  other  in  the  open  market.  The 
word  value,  when  used  alone,  properly  refers  only  to 
exchange-value.  Suppose  a  man  has  an  abundance 
of  wheat,  but  no  other  goods.  But  he  needs  corn, 
sugar  and  clothing.  Driving  to  market,  he  finds  he 
can  exchange  one  bushel  of  wheat  for  three  bushels  of 
corn,  or  ten  pounds  of  sugar,  or  his  whole  load  of 
wheat  for  a  suit  of  clothes.  There  is  something-  in 
the  one  bushel  of  wheat,  the  three  bushels  of  corn  and 
the  ten  pounds  of  sugar  equal  in  each  case.  That 
something  is  the  exchange-value. 

In  all  civilized  lands  barter  disappeared  long  ago. 
We  have  found  a  general  medium  of  exchange,  some- 
thing for  which  we  can  at  all  times  exchange  our  com- 
modities, something  possessing  which  we  can  at  any 
time  by  exchange  procure  commodities.  That  some- 
thing is  money,  which  is  rightly  called  the  measure  of 
value.  The  money  for  which  a  commodity  can  be  ex- 
changed is  said  to  be  its  price,  but  do  not  make  the 
mistake  of  concluding  it  is  its  value.  The  money  for 
which  it  exchanges  may  be  more  than  its  real  value, 
or  it  may  be  less.  The  introduction  of  money  into 
the  question  is  apt  to  confuse  us.  It  wonderfully  sim- 
plifies transactions  in  ordinary  life,  but  it  may  after  all 
hinder  us  in  coming  to  a  right  understanding  of  ex- 
change-value itself.  When  we  say  that  wheat  is  worth 
one  dollar  a  bushel,  that  no  more  tells  us  the  nature 


162  CAPITALIST    PRODUCTION. 

of  exchange-value  than  does  the  statement  that  it  is 
worth  three  bushels  of  corn.  Money  is  simply  a  com- 
modity which  by  universal  consent  has  become  the 
common  medium  of  exchange. 

The  importance  of  coming  to  a  right  conclusion 
as  to  what  exchange-value  is  and  on  what  it  depends 
is  very  great.  The  business  world  is  concerned  solely 
with  the  exchange-value  of  things,  not  at  all  with  their 
use-value.  One  class  of  writers  assert  that  the  ex- 
change-value of  a  commodity  is  simply  the  amount  of 
labor  that  has  been  used  in  making  it.  To  take  the 
case  of  Bessemer  steel  again,  when  this  process  was 
invented  a  vast  amount  of  labor  was  saved,  and  there- 
fore though  its  use-value  remained  the  same  as  before, 
yet  its  exchange-value  at  once  decreased.  The  con- 
clusions of  many  eminent  men  is  that  in  the  final 
analysis  labor  is  the  measure  of  exchange-value. 

Adam  Smith  tells  us,  "  what  is  bought  with  money 
or  with  goods  is  purchased  by  labor  as  much  as  what 
we  acquire  by  the  toil  of  our  own  body.  Labor  was 
the  first  price,  the  original  purchase  money  that  was 
paid  for  all  things.  It  was  not  by  gold  or  by  silver, 
but  by  labor  that  all  the  wealth  of  the  world  was 
originally  purchased.  Labor,  therefore  is  the  real 
measure  of  the  exchangeable  value  of  all  commodities." 
Ricardo  speaks  of  "  labor  as  being  the  foundation  of 
all  value  and  the  relative  quantity  of  labor  as  almost 
exclusively  determining  the  relative  value  of  commo- 
dities." And  then  he  shows  by  extended  "  illustrations 


CAPITALIST    PRODUCTION.  163 

that  it  is  not  only  the  labor  immediately  applied  to 
commodities  that  effects  their  value,  but  the  labor  also 
which  is  bestowed  on  implements,  tools  and  buildings 
with  which  such  labor  is  assisted."  J.  S.  Mills  con- 
cludes that  the  value  of  all  commodities  that  can  be 
produced  freely  depends  on  the  cost  of  production, 
then  in  examining  into  the  cost  of  production,  he  finds 
that  the  element  of  labor  is  well  nigh  the  sole  element 
to  be  considered.  He  therefore  concludes  that  "  the 
value  of  commodities  depends  principally  on  the  quan- 
tity of  labor  required  for  their  production." 

The  writers  are  indeed  very  few  who  will  not 
admit  that  labor  forms  by  far  the  most  important  ele- 
ment in  value.  It  is  true  they  may  not  say  it  in  words, 
but  that  is  what  it  amounts  to.  Bastiat  says,  "  value 
is  the  relation  of  two  services  exchanged.  We  labor 
in  order  to  feed,  clothe,  shelter,  defend  one  another. 
We  compare,  we  discuss,  we  estimate  or  appreciate 
these  services."  This  is  but  a  roundabout  way  of 
saying  that  value  depends  on  labor.  Laveleye,  how- 
ever, insists  that  while  labor  is  an  essential  element  of 
value,  it  is  not  the  sole  element,  that,  in  fact,  value 
springs  from  utility.  Then  he  illustrates  this  by  refer- 
ring for  instance  to  water,  on  the  bank  of  a  river  it 
has  no  value,  on  the  fourth  story  of  the  house  a  small 
value,  in  the  desert  of  Sahara  a  very  great  value. 
"Thus,"  says  he,  "  its  value  will  increase  in  propor- 
tion to  its  scarcity  or  the  difficulty  of  getting  it." 
Why  not  say  at  once  that  its  value  depends  on  the 
amount  of  labor  necessary  to  procure  it. 


164  CAPITALIST    PRODUCTION. 

Probably  but  few  would  object  to  the  statement 
that  the  exchange-value  of  commodities  depended  6n 
the  amount  of  labor  incorporated  in  them,  if  it  were 
not  the  consequence  that  socialist  writers  draw  from 
them.  Karl  Marx,  the  leader  of  German  Socialism, 
rounds  out  and  completes  Ricardo's  analysis  of  value, 
by  explaining  more  particularly  in  reference  to  labor. 
The  labor  that  measures  value  is  the  average,  socially- 
necessary  labor.  One  workman  may  be  a  very  slow 
workman.  It  may  take  him  twice  as  long  to  make  a 
coat  as  his  more  speedy  fellow-workman.  Yet  the 
coats  when  made  will  have  the  same  value.  Their 
value  is  that  of  the  average  coat,  made  by  the  average 
workman.  Also  the  average  workman  in  laboring 
must  make  use  of  the  labor  appliances  of  the  time. 
Steel  made  by  the  old  process,  though  requiring  far 
more  labor,  is,  after  all,  only  of  the  same  value  as  the 
steel  made  by  the  more  recent  process.  This  follows 
because  it  is  no  longer  necessary  to  embody  so  much 
labor  in  the  process. 

The  consequences  that  the  socialists  draw  from 
the  foregoing  is  simply  this,  inasmuch  as  all  value  has 
really  been  created  by  labor,  therefore  all  profits 
should  go  to  labor.  But  it  has  not  been  this  way  in 
the  past  and  is  not  so  now,  and  consequently  private 
property  is  theft,  to  use  the  words  of  Proudhon.  It  is 
necessary  then  to  undo  this  evil  by  abolishing  property. 
This  reasoning  is  false,  we  think,  and  will  try  and 
show  in  what  respect.     But  undoubtedly  it  was  such 


CAPITALIST    PRODUCTION.  165 

conclusions  as  this  which  run  counter  to  the  feelings 
of  right,  that  induced  a  number  of  writers  to  reconsider 
this  theory  of  value.  The  theory  propounded  in  its 
place  is  the  "  cost  of  production  theory."  The  value 
of  a  thing,  we  are  told,  depends  on  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction. So  far  all  is  plain.  The  trouble  comes  in 
when  they  attempt  to  tell  us  what  the  cost  of  produc- 
tion is. 

Mr.  Mill,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  concludes  that 
labor  is  the  principal  element  in  exchange-value,  con- 
cludes that  the  cost  of  production  depends  on  labor 
and  profit  of  capital.  Mr.  Cairns  would  make  the  ele- 
ments of  cost  to  be  labor,  abstinence  and  risk.  Mr. 
Bagehot  makes  the  the  principal  element  to  be  profit. 
It  seems  to  us  self-evident  that  the  arguments  of  these 
gentlemen  are  misapplied.  They  may  afford  an  ex- 
cellent reason  why  the  value  of  commodities  should  be 
divided  between  the  laborers  and  the  capitalists,  but 
they  do  not  touch  the  question  of  value  at  all.  What 
has  the  profits  of  the  capitalist  to  do  with  the  value? 
A  certain  amount  of  value  is  created  by  labor,  there 
may  well  be  most  excellent  reasons  why  this  value 
should  be  divided  between  the  laborers  and  capitalists 
— most  excellent  reasons  for  concluding  the  socialists 
are  wrong  in  thinking  all  the  value  should  go  to  labor- 
ers— and  yet  leave  untouched  the  conclusion  that  the 
exchange-value  of  commodities  is  measured  by  the 
socially  necessary  amount  of  labor  incorporated  in 
them. 


166  CAPITALIST   PRODUCTION. 

In  coming  to  this  conclusion  let  it  be  understood 
that  we  are  talking  about  the  primary,  the  normal  ex- 
change-values of  commodities,  that  can  be  indefinitely 
increased.  All  commodities  cannot  be  so  increased, 
such  as  works  of  art,  these  are  not  subject  to  the  usual 
law  of  value.  They  are  a  monopoly.  And  even  of 
commodities  that  can  be  indefinitely  increased,  as  every 
one  knows  there  may  be  deviations  from  this  rule,  for 
there  are  many  ways  of  creating  artificial  monopolies. 
And  yet  we  insist  that  the  conclusions  sometimes 
drawn  from  this  statement,  that  all  surplus  value 
should  be  returned  to  the  laborer,  is  wrong.  Practic- 
ally, we  all  feel  it  to  be  so.  The  majority  of  clear 
headed  men  will  only  claim  that  capital  is  obtaining 
too  large  a  share  of  the  surplus,  they  ask  for  a  more 
even  divide,  that  is  all.  They  may  with  truth  complain 
that  the  evils  necessarily  inhering  in  the  present 
method  of  capitalist  production,  which  we  will  soon 
point  out,  imperatively  demand  great  changes. 

The  share  of  surplus  value  that  goes  to  capital 
under  present  arrangements  may  be  subdivided.  One 
portion  may  be  charged  to  the  account  of  interest. 
There  has  been  a  vast  deal  of  confusion  on  the  subject 
of  interest.  The  church,  during  the  middle  ages,  con- 
ceived it  to  be  her  duty  to  urge  war  against  taking 
interest ;  and  to  this  day  there  are  some  who  think  it 
wrong  to  charge  interest.  Yet  the  practical  sense  of 
mankind  generally  has  sanctioned  taking  interest,  and 
we  may  be  sure  whenever  such  is  the  case  there  must 


CAPITALIST    PRODUCTION".  167 

be  some  reason  for  so  doing,  the  problem  is  to  discover 
the  ground  on  which  it  rests.  Del  Mar  discovered, 
that  as  an  historical  fact,  interest  has  increased  or  de- 
creased as  the  means  of  subsistence  have  increased. 
Henry  George  has  worked  this  idea  out  and  illustrated 
it.  The  results  which  these  writers  reach  is  that  in- 
terest springs  from  the  reproductive  forces  of  nature ; 
that  it  is  therefore  the  result  of  a  natural  law,  and 
consequently  just. 

A  further  reward  is  due  to  the  man  or  men  who 
control  capital  for  the  energy,  ability  and  tact  with 
which  the  business  is  conducted.  Strictly  speaking, 
all  such  services  may  be  classed  as  labor.  And  yet  it 
is  on  an  altogether  different  plane.  Talent  in  organiz- 
ing and  conducting  a  business  is  unfortunately  rare, 
and  the  individual  possessing  the  same  is  entitled  to 
a  reward  not  properly  classed  as  wages.  They  further- 
more are  entitled  to  a  compensation  for  the  risk  they 
run.  They  risk  their  entire  means.  While  it  is  easy 
to  say  that  taking  production  in  general,  the  element 
of  risk  is  eliminated,  yet  practically  we  know  it  is  not. 
Events  happening  on  the  other  side  of  the  world, 
against  which  no  foresight  could  have  provided,  may 
so  effect  the  financial  world  as  to  cause  wide  spread 
loss.  We  know  that  the  financial  crisis  in  South 
America  in  the  fall  of  1890,  caused  failures  in  London 
and  New  York. 

We  therefore  see  that  although  labor  is  the  cre- 
ator of  exchange-value,   yet   there    are  many  good 


168  CAPITALIST   PRODUCTION. 

reasons  why  capital  should  have  its  share  of  the  value 
so  created.  This  conclusion  is  the  one  sustained  by 
the  practical  common  sense  of  the  world  generally. 
It  is  against  the  whole  system  that  objections  can  be 
raised.  The  laboring  world  does  not  object  to  the 
division  of  profits  with  capital  in  itself,  but  they  do 
object  to  the  unfair  division  now  employed.  But  we 
shall  find  as  we  continue  on  our  way,  that  the  trouble 
lies  deeper  than  the  mere  division  of  profit.  The 
whole  system  of  capitalist  production — the  laborers 
forming  one  class,  the  owners  of  the  instruments  of 
production  another  class — is  doomed.  If  it  had  any 
period  of  usefulness — and  he  is  a  very  superficial 
reader  of  history  who  will  not  admit  this — that  period 
is  now  past,  and  the  most  earnest  scholars  in  this 
country  and  abroad  think  that  a  change  must  come 
soon.  And  in  this  question  all  are  interested.  Right 
here  lies  hidden  the  secret  of  hard  times,  as  well  as 
much  of  pauperism  and  crime.  Our  agriculturalist, 
our  professional  men,  merchants  and  manufacturers, 
all  are  concerned,  because  here  is  the  explanation  of 
much  of  the  difficulties  nnder  which  our  civilization  is 
struggling. 

This  somewhat  long  digression  into  the  nature  of 
value  was  necessary  if  we  would  understand  the  na- 
ture of  capitalist  production.  For  let  us  see  how 
labor  goes  to  work  to  create  value.  The  work  must 
be  some  useful  work.  It  must  be  devoted  to  making 
some  object  that  will  satisfy  human  wants.     If  a  man 


CAPITALIST    PRODUCTION.  169 

works  ever  so  hard  rolling  stones  up  a  hill,  to  let  them 
roll  down  again,  he  creates  no  value.  The  work  he 
has  expended  has  not  been  "  socially  necessary  work." 
He  must  so  apply  his  labor  as  to  make  something 
which  has  a  use-value.  Suppose  he  decides  to  make 
a  coat.  He  buys  cloth,  thread  and  buttons.  Each 
one  of  these  articles  as  they  are  when  he  buys  them, 
is  a  commodity,  and  possesses  both  use-value  and  ex- 
change-value ;  he  proposes  to  so  combine  them  by  his 
labor  as  to  form  a  new  commodity.  The  use-value  of 
the  various  articles  disappear,  the  cloth  is  no  longer 
useful  as  cloth,  nor  the  thread  as  thread,  nor  the  but- 
tons as  buttons.  A  new  article,  a  coat,  has  made  its 
appearance.  It  has  a  new  use-value,  something  en- 
tirely independent  of  the  use-values  of  its  constituents. 
But  the  value  (exchange-value)  of  the  cloth,  thread 
and  buttons  is  passed  over  to  the  coat.  They  form  a 
large  part  of  the  value  of  the  coat,  the  labor  of  the 
workman  forming  the  balance. 

Now  notice  in  the  above  in  order  to  produce  a 
new  article,  other  articles  had  to  be  procured  and 
their  use-value  realized,  that  is  to  say,  consumed. 
While  in  mining  we  do  not  manufacture  the  ore,  or 
the  coal,  yet  we  have  to  consume  the  use-value  of 
many  articles  to  get  them.  In  the  above  the  labor  of 
the  workman  has  not  been  spoken  of  or  described  as 
a  commodity.  But  the  very  essence  of  capitalist  pro- 
duction is  that  labor  itself  becomes  a  commodity. 
Capital  never  did  become  master  until  an  army  of 


170  CAPITALIST   PRODUCTION. 

workmen  depending  on  wages  for  their  labor  had 
made  its  appearance.  In  capitalist  production  capital 
buys  the  raw  material,  and  buys  the  labor  and  real- 
izes the  use-value  of  these  commodities — sets  the 
labor  to  work  on  the  raw  products — and  thus  manu- 
factures new  commodities.  Here  as  before  what 
passes  into  the  value  (exchange-value)  of  the  new 
commodity  is  simply  the  value  (exchange-value)  of  the 
constituents,  capital  itself  has  not  labored  as  the  work- 
man did  in  the  former  illustration,  so  it  has  added  no 
new  value. 

Probably  there  is  no  dispute  that  labor  is  now  a 
commodity.  Do  we  not  talk  about  it  being  regulated 
by  supply  and  demand,  determined  by  competition 
and  all  that  ?  Does  it  not  rise  and  fall  in  the  market 
like  other  commodities  ?  Where,  for  any  cause,  there 
is  a  great  demand  for  it,  but  workmen  are  scarce, 
there  wages  will  be  high.  The  converse  of  this 
rule  is  equally  clear.  In  fact,  we  might  recast 
our  definition  of  capital,  and  say  that  capital  did  not 
exist  before  labor  became  a  commodity.  The  pres- 
ent age  might  be  known  as  the  Age  of  Wagedom,  or 
the  age  in  which  labor  is  a  commodity.  It  was  not  a 
commodity  in  the  earlier  ages  of  the  village  commu- 
nity. It  was  not  to  a  great  extent  a  commodity  in  the 
gild  system,  only  as  it  gradually  changed  its  nature 
and  became  a  commodity  did  capital  become  master. 

Being  a  commodity  it  has  its  use-value  and  its 
exchange -value,  like  any  other  commodity.     Its  use- 


CAPITALIST    PEODUCTION.  171 

value  may  be  realized  in  innumerable  ways,  it  may  be 
used  in  holding  a  plow,  in  setting  type  or  performing 
some  mechanical  work.  One  peculiarity  of  this  com- 
modity is  that  most  commodities  have  to  be  paid  for 
before  they  are  consumed,  but  in  the  case  of  labor  its 
use-value  is  realized  before  it  is  paid  for.  As  Marx 
says,  "the  use-value  of  the  labor  power  is  advanced 
to  the  capitalist,  the  laborer  allows  the  buyer  to  con- 
sume it  before  he  receives  payment  of  the  price,  he 
everywhere  gives  credit  to  the  capitalist."  It  follows, 
then  that  the  older  idea  that  wages  were  drawn  from 
capital  is  a  mistake.  Henry  George  has  elaborated 
this  idea  to  a  great  extent. 

The  exchange-value  of  labor  considered  as  a 
commodity  must  follow  the  same  law  as  every  other 
exchange-value.  It  is  simply  the  amount  of  human 
labor  necessary  to  raise  and  maintain  a  laborer.  This 
amount  varies  in  different  places,  and  has  varied  at 
different  times  in  history  It  depends  on  climatic  con- 
ditions, and  the  physical  surroundings  of  a  country. 
In  short,  the  exchange-value  of  labor  considered  as  a 
commodity,  is  simply  what  will  afford  the  workman  a 
living,  therefore  that  is  the  limit  towards  which  wages 
constantly  tend  to  approach.  No  wonder  workmen 
are  dissatisfied.  No  wonder  our  civilization  seems 
stricken  with  a  strange  blight.  But  what  are  we  go- 
ing to  do  about  it  ?  Labor  is  a  commodity,  its  ex- 
change-value must  be  based  on  the  same  law  as  all 
other  exchange-values. 


172  CAPITALIST   PRODUCTION. 

Ricardo  long  ago  wrote  as  follows:  "Labor, 
like  all  other  things  which  are  purchased  and  sold, 
and  which  may  be  increased  or  diminished  in  quan- 
tity, has  its  natural  and  its  market  price.  The  natural 
price  of  labor  is  that  price  which  is  necessary  to  ena- 
ble the  laborers,  one  with  another,  to  subsist  and  to 
perpetuate  their  race  without  either  increase  or  dimi- 
nution  However  much  the  market  price  of 

labor  may  deviate  Irom  its  natural  price,  it  has  like 
commodities  a  tendency  to  conform  to  it."  We  would 
find  by  examining  the  writings  of  authors  on  this  sub- 
ject that  though  many  of  them  do  not  accept  this 
theory  of  value,  yet  can  not  deny  the  fact  that  wages 
do  tend  to  a  limit  that  will  simply  afford  a  living. 
Turgot,  even  earlier  than  Ricardo,  left  on  record  his 
conviction  that  "  in  every  kind  of  labor  it  must  there- 
fore result  that  the  wages  of  the  laborer  are  limited 
to  the  exact  amount  to  keep  him  alive."  Mill,  in 
England,  Roscher,  in  Germany,  acquiesce  in  this 
statement.  Prof.  Ely,  of  this  country,  in  a  very  re- 
cent work  says  :  "  There  is  so  overwhelming  an  array 
of  facts  gathered  from  widely  separated  countries  and 
from  periods  so  distant  from  one  another,  which  con- 
firm this  conclusion  that  it  is  difficult  to  resist  it." 
We  will  not  discuss  this  law  further  at  this  particular 
place,  though  we  are  by  no  means  through  with  it. 
We  will  only  add  that  enough  has  been  already  stated 
to  condemn  the  present  system.  But  let  us  continue 
on  our  way. 


CAPITALIST    PRODUCTION.  173 

Although  it  is  probably  not  necessary,  let  us  say 
once  for  all  that  our  objections  are  raised  against  the 
system,  not  at  all  against  individuals.  The  individual 
capitalist,  no  more  than  the  individual  workman  is  to 
blame,  it  is  the  system  itself.  So  long  as  labor  is  a 
commodity,  so  long  will  the  iron  law  of  wages  (as 
Lasalle  calls  it)  continue  in  force.  Bnt  to  continue. 
Capital  buys  the  raw  material  and  furnishes  the  ma- 
chinery, the  "  plant."  It  then  buys  the  labor,  agree- 
ing to  pay  for  it  its  market  price,  its  exchange-value, 
that  is  to  say,  what  will  support  the  labor-machine,  the 
laborer,  according  to  his  customary  scale  of  living. 
The  laborer  goes  to  work,  exerting  his  labor  power 
in  manipulating  the  machinery  of  the  plant,  consum- 
ing the  use-value  of  the  raw  materials  and  forming 
new  commodities.  A  portion  of  the  value  that  each 
workman  creates  during  the  day  is  returned  to  him  in 
the  shape  of  wages,  the  other  portion  forms  the  sur- 
plus value,  which  is  appropriated  or  falls  to  the  share 
of  capital. 

Capital  would  not,  of  course,  continue  in  the  field 
of  production  unless  the  results  did  work  out  as  here 
stated.  We  know  that  taking  the  world  in  general, 
manufacturing  has  been  a  very  paying  business.  In 
all  probability  less  than  one-half  of  the  value  created 
solely  by  labor  goes  to  the  laborer.  As  far  as  our 
own  country  is  concerned,  the  following  table  can  be 
worked  out  from  the  Compendium  of  the  Tenth  Census. 
It  will  give  us  the  results  for  the  census  years  of  1850, 


174  CAPITALIST   PRODUCTION. 

i860,  1870  and  1880.  It  is  estimated  that  the  depre- 
ciation of  machinery,  implements  and  buildings  is  ten 
per  cent  of  the  total  capital  employed.  This  is  prob- 
ably too  large  since  but  a  part  of  the  capital  is  invested 
in  machinery  where  most  of  the  depreciation  occurs. 
The  fact  is,  Gronlund,  who  made  this  same  calculation, 
is  willing  to  allow  but  five  per  cent  for  depreciation. 
We  will  say  in  explanation  of  the  table  that  the  results 
for  1870  have  been  reduced  to  a  gold  basis  for  the 
purpose  of  comparison  with  other  years.  As  to  the 
number  of  workmen.  The  census  of  1850  and  i860 
did  not  take  notice  of  the  employment  of  children 
under  the  age  of  sixteen.  This  might  make  a  slight 
difference  in  the  result  for  those  years. 

,r  ,  ,,      (     i8so        i860        1870        1880 

Value  created  by  J         J  _ 

each  laborer  in     1  J^  — £  — 2"  ~ 2" 

kbogrerinaideaCh|ii247-12  ^^  *3<».34  1346-96 

Amt.  absorbed  by  i 

capital    for    each-!  $181.45  $285.52  $293.98  $272.86 

laborer  in  ( 

We  are  not  insensible  of  the  fact  that  the  above  table 
shows  an  improvement,  as  far  as  the  laborer  is  con- 
cerned, for  the  year  1880  as  compared  with  1870.  The 
result  was  probably  owing  to  better  organization  on 
the  part  of  labor.  If  so  it  is  a  hopeful  indication  of 
what  may  yet  be  accomplished. 

What  we  have  thus  far  had  to  say  makes  plain  to 
us  the  nature  of  capital,  of  value,  how  it  was  that  when 


CAPITALIST   PRODUCTION.  175 

once  labor  became  a  commodity,  capital  assumed  an 
importance  hitherto  undreamed  of,  and  became  the 
master  ot  the  people.  We  have  glanced  at  the  work- 
ing of  the  law  of  wages,  and  surely,  unless  we  com- 
mitted some  glaring  oversight,  here  alone  is  cause 
sufficient  for  the  discontent  and  industrial  troubles  we 
see  around  us.  We  already  see  that  onr  laboring 
population  is  doomed  to  a  life  of  toil  for  what — a  bare 
living.  And  unless  we  are  greatly  mistaken,  some- 
thing very  like  this  law  of  wages  is  at  work  in  the  case 
of  the  agriculturalist  also.  Should  such  prove  to  be 
the  case,  then  we  need  search  no  further.  All  other 
legislation  sinks  to  insignificance  besides  the  pressing 
necessity  of  making  at  once  most  radical  changes  in 
the  industrial  system  of  the  day.  Before  proceding 
further  let  us  glance  at  the  question  of  agricultural 
interest. 


176  AGRICULTURE. 


COPTER  VI. 

AGRICULTURE. 

Present  Condition  of  the  United  States — The  Importance  of 
Agriculture — The  Welfare  of  the  Farmers — What  is  Property — 
Increased  Productiveness  of  Land — The  Nature  of  the  Farmers' 
Work — The  Disadvantages  of  the  Farmers'  Work — The  Exchange- 
Value  of  his  Products — His  Work  Compared  with  that  of  Manual 
Labor — Table  of  Results — Wages  or  Salary  — Land  and  Population 
— Increase  in  Size  of  Farms — The  Bonanza  Farms — Small  Farms 
cannot  compete  with  large  ones — Farmers'  Lot  not  improved  by 
Improved  Machinery — The  Standard  of  Comfort — Coming  Changes 
in  the  Industrial  System — Conclusion. 


OUR  remarks  on  labor,  we  have  not  as 
yet  referred  especially  to  our  own 
country.  We  wanted  to  speak  of 
labor  generally.  As  every  one  knows, 
the  United  States  is  as  yet  fortunately 
situated  in  regard  to  land,  population  and 
newness  of  country,  and  the  laws  of  labor 
may  not  apply  quite  as  strictly  in  this  country.  As  we 
have  seen,  the  capitalist  age  was  ushered  in  by  the 
discovery  of  America.  The  very  fact  that  here  and  in 
Australia  were  vast  tracts  of  fertile  land  open  to  immi- 
gration, thus  affording  an  outlet  to  population  that 
found  life  becoming  intolerable  under  the  old  system, 


HON.  JERE  SIMPSON, 
THE  "ALLIANCE"  CONGRESSMAN  FROM  KANSAS. 


AGRICULTURE.  179 

disguised  the  evils  of  the  new  order.  .  But  time  has 
passed  on,  there  is  no  longer  any  considerable  extent 
of  land  inviting  the  immigrant,  and  so  every  year  we 
find  ourselves  drawing  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  time 
when  we  must  seriously  consider  what  changes  we 
shall  introduce  into  present  industrial  life. 

As  we  have  stated,  the  agricultural  stage  marks 
a  most  important  age  in  the  history  of  civilization.  It 
has  always  remained  the  most  important  branch  of  in- 
dustry. In  the  final  analysis  land  is  the  reservoir  from 
which,  by  means  of  labor,  all  capital  is  drawn.  A  vast 
number  of  panegyrics  have  been  written  on  agriculture 
and  the  farmer.  In  the  main  there  is  just  ground  for 
such  praise.  The  yeomanry  of  a  country  as  justly  re- 
garded as  the  foundation  of  its  strength  and  prosper- 
ity. The  yeomanry  of  England  only  disappeared  but 
recently,  and  all  her  historians  lament  the  fact. 
France,  which  is  at  the  present  the  wonder  of  Europe 
for  her  resources,  the  country  that  but  recently  saved 
the  financial  world  from  a  disastrous  panic  by  her 
liberal  outpour  of  gold,  owes  her  wealth  to  her  eight 
million  yeoman  farmers.  According  to  the  census  of 
1880,  there  were  over  four  million  farms  in  the  United 
States,  supposing  the  same  rate  of  increase  has  been 
maintained,  the  census  of  1890  should  show  at  least 
seven  million  farms.  And  at  least  ten  million  people, 
nearly  sixteen  per  cent,  of  the  entire  population  will 
be  found  engaged  in  agriculture. 

Now,  aside   from   any  outburst  of  eloquence  on. 


180  AGRICULTURE. 

the  occupation  of  the  farmer,  it  is  evident  that  the 
welfare  of  such  a  numerous  class  of  citizens  is  a  matter 
that  vitally  concerns  the  country.  We  can  not  wonder 
if  they  propose  to  have  a  voice  in  legislative  matters. 
They  are  fully  as  patriotic  as  any  class  of  citizens,  and 
in  case  of  national  difficulty  they  would  be  one  of  the 
very  first  to  devote  their  lives  and  money  to  the  pro- 
tection of  national  honor.  It  is  not  necessary  to  say 
that  they  are  wise  above  any  other  class  of  citizens. 
They  claim  to  be  up  to  the  standard,  and  are  very 
earnest  in  proposing  to  exercise  a  voice  in  legislation. 
But  at  present  we  want  to  consider  simply  the  general 
nature  of  agriculture  and  the  rewards  which  a  hard 
working  farmer  ought  to  expect  to  reap  from  his  ex- 
ertions. 

Seventy-four  per  cent,  of  the  farms  in  this  country 
are  worked  by  their  owners.  There  are  some  writers 
who  think  that  private  property  in  land  ought  to  be 
abolished.  It  is  true,  as"  a  very  slight  reading  of  his- 
tory shows,  that  private  property  in  land  was  a  com- 
paratively late  development.  It  is  further  true  that 
land  is,  in  many  respects,  of  such  a  nature  that  it  may 
be  put  to  one  side  as  forming  a  class  by  itself  amongst 
all  those  goods  which  may  be  made  the  subject  of 
ownership.  Of  course,  we  all  know  that  land  is  not 
created  by  labor,  consequently  those  who  follow  Locke 
in  his  ideas  as  to  the  origin  of  property  rights,  in  other 
words,  those  who  think  that  labor  gives  the  sole  right 
to  ownership  in  anything,  conclude  that  property  in 


AGRICULTURE.  181 

land  is  wrong.  It  is  but  another  instance  of  reasoning 
and  theorizing  about  the  natural  rights  of  men.  It 
connot  be  too  often  insisted  on,  that  all  of  our  social 
institutions  are  but  concessions  which  society  has 
granted,  which  a  higher  civilization  may  recall  alto- 
gether. A  time  came  in  the  advancing  civilization  of 
our  race  when  it  seemed  for  the  best  purpose  of  society 
to  admit  the  claim  of  private  ownership  in  land.  As 
far  as  the  right,  or  wrong,  or  naturalness  of  this  step 
is  concerned,  it  is  exactly  of  the  same  character  as 
property  in  anything  else.  True,  it  came  late  into 
existence,  and  it  may  be  that  a  higher  civilization  will 
see  fit  to  recall  it,  leaving  other  rights  untouched. 

A  good  deal  of  misconception  arises  as  to  what 
the  word  property  means.  Most  people  answer  that 
property  involves  the  right  to  do  with  a  thing  as  you 
please.  But  if  so,  there  is  no  property  fn  anything. 
If  you  own  an  animal,  you  can  not  beat  or  abuse  it, 
without  the  law  interfering.  You  can  not  use  your 
property  to  the  hurt  or  injury  of  the  public  generally, 
or  it  will  be  declared  a  nuisance.  Property  rights 
from  their  very  nature  are  indefinite.  In  the  case  of 
land,  it  is  a  principle  that  we  see  acted  on  every  day, 
that  the  right  of  eminent  domain  abides  in  the  state. 
We  take  land  from  private  individuals  for  public  pur- 
poses whenever  it  is  needed.  It  needs  only  to  be 
shown  that  the  best  interests  of  society  demand  that 
land  be  nationalized,  and  a  way  will  be  found  to  do  it. 
But  this  is  a  matter  in  which  we  can  afford  to  make 


182  AGRICULTURE. 

haste  very  slowly,  and  the  time  is  probably  far  in  the 
future  before  we  will  decide  to  abolish  private  property 
in  land.  When  we  look  at  the  matter  in  this  light  we 
can  see  no  objection  to  property  in  land.  There  are 
no  doubt  excellent  reasons  why  private  ownership  of 
land  is  beneficial.  And  there  the  whole  matter  rests. 
Let  once  conditions  so  change  that  reason  of  public 
policy  demand  that  the  state  should  take  such  owner- 
ship under  its  own  control  and  no  one  can  object.  But 
let  us  be  sure  we  are  right  before  we  go  ahead. 

Land  is  provided  by  nature,  but  not  in  unlimited 
quantities  like  the  air  we  breathe.  Labor  and  capital 
can  be  indefinitely  increased,  but  we  can  only  hope  to 
increase  the  productiveness  of  land.  If  by  any 
means  we  can  make  one  acre  of  land  do  the  work  of 
two  acres,  then  we  have  in  effect  doubled  the  supply 
of  land.  Advancing  civilization  has  accomplished 
some  such  a  result  as  this  in  the  past.  We  may  hope 
for  equally  as  great  results  in  the  future.  Agricul- 
ture is  an  art,  and  improvements  have  taken  place  in 
it  the  same  as  in  every  art.  Thus  the  introduction  of 
turnips  into  England  near  the  close  of  the  last  cent- 
ury made  almost  a  revolution  in  agriculture.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  mention  a  great  number  of  like 
changes.  As  there  is  to-day  a  wonderful  difference 
in  farmers — one  known  as  a  good  farmer,  another  as 
a  poor  one — so  there  is  a  great  difference  in  the  sys- 
tems of  farming.  Better  ideas  as  to  the  importance  of 
draining,  of  the  value  and   importance   of  fertilizers, 


AGRICULTURE.  183 

of  improved  breed  of  stock,  all  this  wonderfully  in- 
creases the  productiveness  of  land.  In  a  similar  way 
we  may  increase  the  productiveness  of  land  by  dimin- 
ishing the  labor  necessary  to  cultivate  it,  that  is  by 
improved  implements.  Compare  the  self-binder  with 
the  hand  cradle. 

In  an  altogether  similar  way  the  effect  of  im- 
proved transportation  is  virtually  to  increase  the  sup- 
ply of  available  land.  Improved  railroads  have  in 
effect  moved  the  wheat  fields  of  Manitoba  thousands 
of  miles  nearer  the  market.  The  Suez  canal  made 
India  a  dangerous  competitor  for  American  wheat  in 
Europe.  In  our  own  country  the  improved  means  of 
transportation  has  greatly  reduced  the  value  of  land 
in  the  Central  and  Eastern  States,  because  by  lessen- 
ing the  expense  of  moving  the  grain  from  the  West 
it  has  increased  the  available  supply  of  land.  When 
we  dwell  on  this,  we  see  that  a  great  future  is  open- 
ing before  us,  the  whole  world  is  drawing  closer 
together.  We  do  not  know  what  wonderful  advances 
there  may  be  in  store  for  us  in  the  future  in  this  direc- 
tion. The  time  may  come  when  our  present  means 
of  transportation  will  seem  as  antiquated  and  as  far 
behind  the  times  as  does  the  lumbering  ox-train  com- 
pared with  the  fast  freight  of  to-day.  Then  indeed 
the  very  odds  and  ends  of  the  earth  will  be  utilized. 
It  is  the  advance  of  man  in  civilization  which  counter- 
acts what  is  known  as  the  law  of  "  diminishing  re- 
turns "  in  political   economy,  and  it  is  this  which  pre- 


184  AGKICULTURE. 

vents    the    increase    of  population    from    having   the 
effect  that  economists  figure  out  for  it. 

Now  having'  considered  briefly  the  nature  of  pri- 
vate property  in  land,  let  us  consider  the  nature  of 
the  farmer's  work.  As  land  is  the  source  from  whence 
all  value  is  drawn,  so  from  the  ranks  of  agricultural 
workers  come  the  leading  men  of  this  and  other 
countries.  To  win  success  in  the  world,  health  and 
strength  are  demanded ;  a  good  constitution  is  a 
better  capital  than  money.  We  take  the  following 
account  from  a  recent  work  devoted  to  the  farmers  of 
our  land :  "  Natural  surroundings  beget  character. 
The  farmer  is  the  servant  of  the  seasons.  He  waits 
upon  the  motions  of  nature.  In  the  spring  he  sows 
and  plants,  and  awaits  the  slow,  calm  never  hurried 
unfolding  of  the  year,  to  know  if  he  may  reap  and 
gather.  And  slowly  like  the  unfolding  of  plant-life 
in  spring,  there  is  developed  in  him  a  calm  patience 
which  stands  unshaken  and  tranquil  even  when  facing 
the  ruin  made  by  wind,  or  hail,  or  flood.  This  pa- 
tience is  the  basis  of  character  and  the  promise  of 
endurance  and  continuance.  The  fields,  the  hills,  the 
woods,  and  the  illimitable  heavens  are  the  farmers' 
constant  companions.  They  steal  in  upon  him  and 
impress  him  until  unconsciously  his  character  takes  on 
a  rugged  simplicity.  Nature  continually  impresses 
him  with  the  stability  of  her  purpose,  and  yet  she 
keeps  his  eyes  and  ears  ever  on  the  alert  with  new 
beauties  of  landscape  and  voices  from  field  and  grove. 


ARGICULTURE.  185 

His  eyes  reads  the  signs  of  the  heavens  to  know  what 
the  weather  will  be  ;  and  so  his  perceptive  faculties 
are  trained  to  be  ever  on  the  alert.  The  diversity  of 
soil,  the  diversity  of  crops,  the  changes  of  weather, 
broaden  the  farmer  into  a  man  of  resources  and  ex- 
pedients. The  continual  emergencies  occurring  upon 
the  farm  train  the  fingers  to  skill  and  the  brain  to 
invention.  Of  what  is  of  equal  importance  to  the 
race  nature  bestows  upon  the  farmer  bodily  vigor  and 
health.  The  elixir  of  life  is  in  the  fresh  air  of  the 
balmy  morning,  and  the  fierce  heat  of  the  noonday 
harvest  sun.  It  was  thence  the  earth  received  all  the 
stored  up  energies  found  in  her  great  veins  of  coal, 
and  with  it  nature  pours  her  energies  into  the  farmer. 
She  inures  him  in  all  kinds  of  weather.  She  tans  his 
cheek  with  the  glow  of  health.  She  gives  him  a  deep 
chest,  a  good  appetite  and  splendid  digestion.  This 
inheritance  counts  in  the  life  struggle,  and  it  is  the 
farmer's  son  or  grandson  who  forges  to  the  leadership 
of  men." 

The  foregoing  account  is  a  little  enthusiastic,  but 
it  is  in  the  main  just.  Of  course,  the  advantages  are 
not  all  on  one  side.  The  drawbacks  are  that  the  far- 
mer leads  more  or  less  of  an  isolated  life,  and  unless 
he  exerts  himself  he  is  liable  to  loose  "  touch,"  so  to 
speak,  with  the  active  world  of  thought  and  business, 
of  science  and  art  that  is  in  motion  about  him.  A 
farmer  who  makes  farming  the  whole  end  of  his  life, 
makes  as  grievous  a  mistake  as  the  business  man  who 


186  AGRICULTURE. 

forgets  all  in  his  devotion  to  business.  There  are 
some  farmers  who  make  of  life  one  dreary  round  of 
toil,  and  this  too  when  not  compelled,  thereto,  by  the 
stern  pressure  of  necessity.  Perhaps  it  would  be  just 
to  say  that  farming,  rightly  conducted,  is  all  the 
foregoing  account  makes  of  it,  and  charge  the  evils 
which  we  all  see,  to  a  wrong  system.  For  it  seems, 
to  take  the  author  from  whom  we  have  just  quoted, 
that  in  spite  of  the  many  advantages  of  the  farmer's 
lot,  which  ought  to  doubly  equip  him  to  fight  life's 
battles,  something  is  wrong. 

"  In  New  England  farms  are  standing  deserted 
which  are  in  sight  and  sound  of  the  great  factories, 
and  this  depopulation  has  gone  on  until  the  state 
authorities  are  busy  with  schemes  of  colonization  by 
importation  of  poor  people  from  Northern  Europe.  In 
the  Middle  States  profits  in  farming  are  among  the 
lost  arts  and  lands  and  rents  have  depreciated  greatly. 
In  the  Southern  States  land  values  are  in  the  midst  of 
the  "  slough  of  despond,"  and  the  condition  of  the 
farming  classes  hopeless,  were  it  not  for  the  fact  and 
spirit  of  organization  which  now  moves  them  as  one 
man.  In  the  Western  States  farm  profits  are  an  un- 
certain and  often  minus  quantity  and  the  mortgaged 
indebtedness  hangs  a  pall  over  every  rain-bow  of 
promise.  The  farmers  of  the  Eastern  and  Middle 
States,  are  told  that  they  are  being  ruined  by  the  com- 
petition of  the  Western  living  on  cheap  lands  ;  the 
farmers  of  the  South  are  told  that  their  poverty  is  due 


AGRICULTURE.  187 

to  the  devastation  of  the  war  and  the  lack  of  capital ; 
the  Western  farmers  are  told  that  the  trouble  with 
them  is  over-production.  In  England  the  agricultural 
depression  is  as  great  as  in  America.  In  other  Euro- 
pean States  as  great,  except  perhaps  in  France." 

This  picture  is  not  a  bit  over-drawn.  There  is  no 
question  that  farmers  work  hard  during  the  greater 
portion  of  the  year,  and  yet,  unless  they  own  their 
farm  free  from  incumbrances,  they  can  but  barely  make 
a  living.  The  general  impression  is  that  the  mortgage 
indebtedness  on  farms  is  gradually  increasing.  Now 
what  is  the  reason  for  all  this?  The  answers  to  this 
query  are  as  various  as  the  people  to  whom  they  are 
propounded.  Some  find  the  answer  in  our  system  of 
taxes,  some  in  the  money,  some  in  the  cost  of  carrying 
the  produce  to  market,  some  in  this  and  some  in  that. 
Probably  here  as  elsewhere  many  causes  conduce  to 
the  same  result.  We  think,  however,  that  here  also 
the  evil  is  intensified  by  allowing  capital  to  exercise 
its  power ;  in  short,  that  our  agricultural  interests  also 
are  suffering  from  the  industrial  system  under  which 
we  live,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  evils  of  capitalist  pro- 
duction. 

The  farmer  must  rely  for  his  compensation  upon 

the  exchange-value  of  his  products,  though  he  raises 

a  large  part  of  his  living.  The  vegetables  he  consumes, 

the  fruits,  eggs  and  most  of  the  meat  required  for  his 

family,  he  gets  at  first  cost.     But  for  all  that,  he  must 

exchange  the  products  of  his  farm  for  clothing,  boots 

13 


188  AGRICULTURE. 

and  shoes,  sugar  and  flour.  Then  he  also  needs 
money  to  carry  on  his  farm.  He  needs,  in  most  cases, 
to  hire  some  help,  whose  services  must  be  paid  in 
money.  He  requires  a  large  number  of  implements, 
plows,  cultivators,  reapers  and  mowers.  These  wear 
out  fast  and  must  be  replaced  from  time  to  time.  He 
must  pay  taxes  the  same  as  other  citizens,  and  often 
an  undue  share  of  the  same.  It  is  not  extravagant 
for  him  to  have  in  his  house,  books,  papers  and  other 
articles  of  comfort  and  luxury.  He  must  have  horses 
and  stock.  And  then,  in  an  unfortunately  large  num- 
ber of  cases,  there  is  the  interest  on  the  mortgage. 
So  he,  too,  is  dependent  on  the  exchange-value  of  his 
products. 

The  real  exchange-value  of  his  products  depends, 
as  in  the  case  of  all  commodities,  on  the  work  incor- 
porated in  them.  In  the  case  of  the  factory  workman, 
we  have  seen  that  the  wages  for  which  he  works  con- 
stitutes only  a  part  of  the  value  he  creates,  the  rest 
being  absorbed  by  capital.  The  farmer  does  not  work 
for  wages.  He  puts  in  long  hours  of  hard  work,  he, 
too,  creates  in  reality  much  more  value  than  is  required 
to  support  him  in  the  simple  style  in  which  he  lives. 
Theoretically,  he  should  be  prosperous.  In  fact,  he  is 
not.  The  price,  or  money,  which  his  produce  brings, 
must  be  below  their  real  value. 

A  few  figures  will  help  us  to  realize  this  more 
plainly.  The  census  of  1880  gives  us  the  "  estimated 
value  of  all  farm  products  sold,  consumed  or  on  hand 


AGRICULTURE.  189 

of  the  year  1879."  But  the  figures  as  given  are  prob- 
ably much  too  low.  In  the  first  place,  the  average 
agriculturalist  would  not  return  at  anywhere  near  its 
full  value  the  produce  used  for  the  support  of  himself 
and  family.  This  applies  to  garden  truck,  vegetables, 
small  fruits,  eggs,  poultry  and  other  meat,  as  well  as 
the  corn  and  grain  consumed  by  his  stock.  Now  all 
this  is  part  of  the  value  created  by  his  work,  and  it 
would  certainly  be  much  underestimated,  even  though 
the  census  enumerators  made  especial  inquiries  on 
this  matter.  Suppose  we  allow  twenty  per  cent  for 
this  cause.  By  comparing  the  two  census  years  of 
1870  and  1880  for  the  value  of  lives  tock,  we  can  find  the 
average  yearly  increase  in  value  of  the  same.  Ten  per 
cent  would  probably  be  a  fair  allowance  for  deprecia- 
tion in  value  of  farm  implements.  We  will  not  con- 
sider the  cost  of  fertilizers,  because  first,  their  value 
is  not  exhausted  in  one  year.  Then  there  is  a  vast 
amount  of  fertilizing  materials  created  each  year  by 
the  live  stock,  which  if  supplied  to  the  land,  represents 
an  actual  value  created  of  which  no  account  was  kept. 
In  the  year  1879  over  seventy-seven  million  dollars 
were  spent  in  building  and  repairing  fences  in  the 
United  States.  Let  us  suppose  that  but  one-half  of 
that  amount  was  laid  out  in  repairing  fences  already 
built.  From  these  data,  knowing  the  entire  number 
of  people  engaged  in  agriculture,  the  average  value 
created  by  each  can  be  obtained.  In  a  similar  way 
we  can  proceed  to  estimate  for  the  year  1870.     Only 


190  AGRICULTURE. 

we  must  there  reduce  the  figures  to  a  gold  basis.  We 
must  also  make  allowance  for  "  improvements  "  made 
on  the  farms,  since  the  figures  as  reported  include 
that  item  in  the  value  of  farm  products  for  the  year. 
Now  as  to  the  results  obtained,  we  are  very  sensible 
of  many  possible  errors.  Yet  the  principle  on  which 
we  proceed  is  right.  As  far  as  we  know,  it  is  the  first 
attempt  to  draw  a  parallel  between  the  value  created 
by  the  average  agricultural  worker  and  the  wages  of 
an  average  workman. 

Value  created  by  the  average   J 

agricultural  worker  in  )    I  Z 

5  [  1547-29         1339-73 

Wages  of  the  average  work-     I    ®  „     £    £ 

JL  ;«  *  1   feoi-34         $346.96 


man  in 


It  is  evident  from  the  above  that  the  agricultural 
workman  was  more  prosperous  in  the  year  1870  than 
in  1880.  We  believe  this  is  the  result  of  experience, 
though,  if  values  of  everything  declined  in  proportion, 
as  they  largely  did,  he  was,  relatively,  fully  as  well 
off.  Labor  in  general  improved  its  condition  in  the 
period  in  question,  but  agricultural  labor  did  not. 
Now  the  general  agreement  of  these  figures  betrays 
the  workings  of  a  common  law.  It  is  evident  that,  in 
the  case  of  the  farmer  as  well  as  the  laborer,  the 
amount  received  from  the  fruits  of  his  labor  tend  to 
settle  about  the  point  which  will  simply  afford  him  a 

living. 

We  do  not  think  these  figures  can  be  disputed. 


AGRICULTURE.  191 

Of  course,  there  are  exceptional  seasons,  and  excep- 
tional periods  of  years.  During  our  war  all  sorts  of 
farm  produce  sold  high.  A  failure  of  crops  may  hap- 
pen in  one  part  of  our  country  or  in  Europe,  those 
sections  having  fair  crops  will  then  profit.  But  take 
it  all  in  all,  we  have  no  doubt  of  the  truth  of  the  con- 
clusion. And  is  not  this  a  matter  of  common  expe- 
rience ?  The  average  workman  must  pay  out  of  the 
amount  he  receives  as  wages  about  eighteen  per  cent 
in  the  shape  of  rent,  for  a  house  to  live  in.  If  he  owns 
his  home  he  may  save  a  little  something.  In  the  same 
way,  if  a  farmer  owns  his  farm  and  is  out  of  debt,  he 
may  gather  around  him  many  comforts  and  amass 
some  money,  but  if  not,  he  must  pay  his  interest  money 
or  a  rent  for  the  farm.  The  case  seems  to  be  as  hope- 
less for  him  to  get  ahead  as  for  his  brother  workman. 
In  the  case  of  the  workman,  we  say  that  capital 
gives  him  only  the  exchange-value  of  the  commodity 
he  has  for  sale,  that  is  to  say,  it  gives  him  in  the 
shape  of  wages  only  just  what  will  support  him.  The 
farmer  is  not  working  for  wages,  yet  nevertheless,  his 
produce  brings  him  in  a  return  that  will  only  just  about 
support  him.  If  in  1870  he  was  getting  considerably 
more  than  the  laborer,  yet  the  swing  ol  the  pendulum 
was  the  other  way  in  1880.  then  he  was  actually  not 
getting  as  great  a  return  for  his  exertions  as  the  aver- 
age workman.  The  figures  for  1-890  are  not  yet  be- 
fore us,  yet  to  judge  from  the  very  general  distress  in 
agricultural  affairs,  we  venture  the  prediction  that  the 


192  AGRICULTURE. 

figures  will  not  improve.  The  explanation  seems  to 
us  very  simple.  Labor  is  a  commodity.  It  is  paid 
only  its  exchange  value,  only  what  will  create  it.  Farm 
labor,  at  least  as  ordinarily  conducted,  is  not  of  a  suf- 
ficiently high  grade  to  be  called  skilled  labor,  though, 
of  course,  there  are  brilliant  exceptions.  How  can  it 
then  expect  any  greater  return  than  labor  in  general  ? 
Every  year  an  army  of  young  men  enter,  some  on  a 
life  of  labor,  working  for  others  on  a  salary,  others  on 
a  life  devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits.  Is  it  not  evi- 
dent that  one  must  hold  out  about  the  same  induce- 
ments as  the  other  ?  And  is  not  such  a  result  sure  to 
follow  as  long  as  labor  is  bought  and  sold  in  the  mar- 
ket like  any  other  commodity?  In  fact,  we  may 
regard  the  prices  for  farm  produce  as  a  salary  or  the 
wages  paid  by  the  world  at  large  to  the  farmer. 

Strange  as  this  last  statement  may  sound,  still  it 
is  in  a  very  real  sense  of  the  word  a  true  statement. 
It  may  be  objected  that  if  so  we  might  as  well  call  the 
fees  of  professional  men — doctors  and  lawyers — their 
salary  or  wages.  Well  they  are  their  wages,  but  the 
element  of  personal  skill  and  experience  here  plays  so 
important  a  part  that  the  two  classes  of  services  are 
not  at  all  on  the  same  plane.  Wheat  raised  by  a 
young  and  inexperienced  farmer  serves  to  make  bread 
just  as  well  as  though  raised  by  a  veteran.  The  re- 
sult in  the  case  of  a  broken  leg  might  be  altogether 
different  whether  it  were  treated  by  an  experienced 
hand  or  not.     You  can  not  estimate  the  value  of  per* 


AGRICULTURE.  193 

sonal  experience  and  technical  skill  in  such  cases.  Or 
in  the  case  of  legal  difficulty,  your  entire  fortune  may 
be  at  stake.  You  want  an  experienced  man,  but  if 
you  are  buying  potatoes  all  you  are  concerned  with  is 
whether  the  potatoes  are  good. 

It  has  been  asserted  that  wages  depend  largely 
on  the  price  of  provisions  ;  if  they  are  high  the  work 
man  necessarily  having  to  receive  a  larger  sum  as 
wages  in  order  to  support  himself.  This  statement  is 
true,  and  yet  it  occurs  to  us  that  generally  speaking 
both  prices  of  provisions  and  wages  of  laborers  rise 
and  fall  together,  both  are  swayed  by  the  power  of 
capital.  The  agriculturalist  receives  for  his  produce 
what  will  afford  him  a  living — the  workman  receives 
as  wages  what  will  afford  him  a  living.  The  standard 
of  comfort,  or  the  standard  of  life,  may  be  a  little 
higher  in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other,  the  living 
procured  by  the  farmer  may  be  a  better  living  than 
that  of  the  workman,  but  in  neither  case  are  the  re- 
wards more  than  that. 

Now  it  may  appear  to  some  that  all  this  is  false. 
That  land  being  limited  in  amount,  the  productions 
received  from  it  are  also  limited,  and  therefore  the 
prices  they  will  command  in  the  market  are  not  meas- 
ured by  the  labor  incorporated  in  them.  In  our  own 
country  at  the  present  it  is  no  trouble  to  raise  an 
abundance  of  all  that  is  required.  If  wheat  for  instance 
should  rise  but  little  in  value,  there  would  soon  be 
such  an  increased  amount  of  it  raised  that  again  the 


194  AGRICULTURE. 

market  would  fall.  Taking  the  civilized  world  together, 
owing  to  improved  methods  of  transport,  there  is  no 
particular  trouble  in  this  matter.  It  is  quite  besides 
the  question  to  say  that  vast  numbers  of  people  go 
hungry,  and  that  a  great  deal  more  could  be  consumed. 
It  simply  shows  with  startling  clearness  that  for  some 
reason  they  can  not  get  the  mere  pittance  to  enable 
them  to  buy  wheat,  for  instance,  even  at  prices  which 
will  only  give  the  agriculturalist  a  living.  Not  only 
have  we  vast  amounts  of  land  as  yet  not  utilized,  but 
no  doubt  our  farms  could  easily  be  made  to  produce 
much  more,  if  there  were  only  a  market  for  the 
produce. 

But  supposing  we  look  ahead  when  instead  of  a 
population  of  sixty-five  millions  we  shall  be  a  nation 
of  say  one  hundred  and  fifty  million.  As  the  value  of 
land  rises,  the  rent  of  the  land  will  increase.  The 
worker  may  raise  produce  which  will  bring  him  in 
more  value,  but  he  will  have  to  pay  that  increased 
value  away  in  increased  rents.  A  constantly  decreas- 
ing number  of  farmers  will  work  their  own  land,  and 
in  this  connection  it  is  well  to  remember  that  already 
twenty-six  per  cent,  of  all  the  farms  in  the  United 
States  are  worked  by  tenant  farmers.  They  will  pass 
into  the  ranks  of  landlords.  We  can  see  no  escape 
from  the  conclusion  that  as  quick  as  such  a  result  is 
brought  about  capital  will  begin  to  concern  itself  more 
and  more  with  land,  and  then  the  so-called  yeomanry, 
or  small  proprietors,  will   as  surely  pass  away  in  this 


ARGICULTURE.  195 

country  as  they  did  in  England.  Indeed,  we  think  we 
are  even  now  entering  on  such  a  stage  of  develop- 
ment in  this  country.  By  referring  to  the  census  of 
1880  the  following  table  can  be  worked  out  in  regard 
to  the  area  of  farms  in  the  two  census  years  of  1880 
and  1870, 


1870. 

1880. 

Per  Cent  of 
Decrease. 

Farms  under  3  acres 

6875 

4352     37 

u        from    3  to  10  acres 

172021 

134889     21 

"           "      10  to  20     " 

244607 

254749     14 

11          "     20  to  30     " 

847614 

781547       2 

Per  Cent  of 
Increase. 

Farms  from    50  to    100 acres  754221    1032810     37 

"  "     100  to    300     "      565054  1695983   200 

«    500  to  1000     (<         15875       75972   379 

"      of  1000  acres  and  over      3720       28578  668 

The  above  table  shows  the  steady  decrease  oi 
farms  below  fifty  acres,  but  the  rapid  increase  of  farms 
above  that  limit.  The  increase  in  the  number  of 
farms  containing  over  one  thousand  acres  is  really 
startling.  It  should  be  added  that  the  census  does 
not  give  us  the  number  of  farms  exceeding  one  thou- 
sand acres,  yet  there  is  in  the  United  States  one  farm 
of  four  million  acre,  one  of  eight  hundred  thousand 
acres,  one  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand,  and 
hundreds  of  them  from  fifty  thousand  acres  and  up- 
wards. 

In  fact  capital  has  not  seriously  turned  its  atten- 
tion to  agricultural  interests,  except  lately.  It  has 
not  paid  it  to  do  so.     But  a  beginning  has  been  made 


196  AGRICULTURE, 

and  the  results  only  show  what  can  be  done.  To 
fully  understand  what  will  become  of  our  agricultural 
interests  when  once  capital  makes  up  its  mind  to  en- 
gage in  the  work,  we  need  only  to  refer  to  the  Bo- 
nanza farms  of  the  Northwest.  We  take  the  liberty 
of  drawing  the  following  account  from  a  description  of 
the  immense  wheat  farms  near  Casselton,  North 
Dakota.  To  emphasize  the  distinction  the  author 
draws  a  comparison  between  farming  in  olden  times 
and  the  present  day.  As  this  is  quite  in  line  with  our 
present  inquiry,  let  us  see  what  he  says :  "  Before 
agricultural  machinery  had  come  into  general  use,  and 
before  the  age  of  railroads,  the  farms  of  our  fathers 
would  average  in  size  but  little  more  than  one  hun- 
dred acres  with  an  amount  of  plow  land  equalling 
about  fifty  acres  each.  Very  rarely  did  they  exceed 
double  that  amount.  On  every  such  farm  was  there  a 
family  home,  with  all  the  ties,  endearments  and  ad- 
vantages that  the  word  home  conveys  to  our  mind. 
They  furnished  not  alone  homes,  but.  employment, 
abundance  and  comfort  for  a  family  of  at  least  a 
dozen  persons.  Go  through  New  England,  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  and  see 
the  great  number  of  such  places,  all  of  them  formerly 
family  homesteads,  lying  within  sight  and  hailing  dis- 
tance of  each  other.  From  half  a  dozen  to  a  hundred 
may  be  seen  from  almost  any  elevated  point. 

Now  mark  the  change   that  has   already  taken 
place,  and  is  fast  obtaining  in  all  our  new  and  great 


AGRICULTURE.  197 

agricultural  regions.  Under  the  power  of  machinery 
and  capital  the  farms  have  grown  from  the  size  of  one 
hundred  acres,  as  formerly,  to  one  thousand  acres,  to 
ten  thousand  acres,  to  one  hundred  thousand  acres, 
even  to  five  hundred  thousand  acres,  or  nearly  eight 
hundred  square  miles  and  more,  with  not  one  home 
upon  their  vast  areas  ;  with  no  one  surrounding  a 
family  roof-tree  with  all  that  made  the  old  home  a 
paradise.  Yet  these  huge  tracts  are  being  developed, 
cultivated  and  made  to  yield  as  was  no  farm  in  the 
days  of  our  fathers.  Nov/  machinery  and  a  few  score 
or  a  few  hundred  hirelings  and  animals  to  run  and 
attend  the  machines,  do  the  work  under  the  eye  of 
overseers.  The  hirelings — the  human  animals — are 
worked  for  a  few  weeks  or  a  few  months  in  the  year, 
paid  barely  enough  to  live  upon  for  the  time  being, 
and  then  are  turned  out  and  driven  from  the  place, 
to  tramp  or  live  as  best  they  can,  no  matter  what  may 
be  the  want  and  misery  of  their  lives,  whilst  the  brute 
animals  and  machines  are  well  housed  and  cared  for. 
The  owner  of  the  farm  has  a  property  interest  in  the 
brute,  but  no  interest  whatever  in  the  human  animal 
other  than  that  of  getting  the  greatest  possible 
amount  of  work  for  the  least  amount  of  compensa- 
tion. The  most  valuable  improvements  are  for  the 
protection  of  the  brutes  and  the  machinery,  whilst  the 
human  tillers  of  the  soil  have  neither  ria-ht  nor  inter- 
est  in  anything  they  see  or  touch  or  produce.  In  this 
way  the  finest  sections  of  our  country,  in  tracts  run- 


198  AGRICULTURE. 

ning  up  to  the  size  of  eight  hundred  or  more  square 
miles — areas  that  would  give  fifty  acres  of  plowland 
to  more  than  a  thousand  families,  and  to  our  fathers 
would  have  furnished  home,  ample  employment  and 
comfort  to  more  than  ten  thousand  people — are  now 
without  even  one  home,  and  furnish  but  transient  and 
uncertain  employment  to  a  few  hundreds. 

The  owners  of  these  large  tracts  have  bonanzas, 
yielding  great  profits,  not  one  dollar  of  which  is  ex- 
pended in  beautifying  and  permanently  improving 
their  vast  estates  beyond  that  necessary  for  the  care 
of  the  stock  and  tools,  nor  in  sustaining  a  permanent 
population.  Their  homes,  their  pleasures,  their  family 
ties  are  not  upon  their  farms.  Their  wealth  is  flaunted 
in  the  gaieties  and  dissipations,  or  expended  in  build- 
ing and  developing  some  distant  city  or  country.  But 
the  owner  and  cultivator  of  the  small  farm  in  the 
neighborhood,  upon  which  he  has  planted  his  roof- 
tree,  and  around  which  are  gathered  all  his  hopes  and 
ambitions,  finds  it  impossible  to  pay  his  taxes,  clothe 
and  educate,  and  find  any  comfort  for  his  wife  and 
little  ones.  The  case  of  the  small  farmer  is  steadily 
growing  from  worse  to  worse.  The  two  can  not  exist 
together ;  the  small  farmer  can  not  successfully  com- 
pete with  his  gigantic  neighbor  under  present  condi- 
ditions.  He  will  inevitably  be  swallowed  up.  It  is  at 
best  but  a  question  of  time." 

We  do  not  see  how  these  statements  can  possi- 
bly be  disputed.     The  small  farmer  can  no  more  com- 


AGRICULTURE.  199 

pete  with  these  immense  capitalized  farms  than  the 
individual  shoe-maker  can  compete  with  a  shoe  factory. 
We  can  read  from  history  how  it  was  that  before  cap- 
ital assumed  control  of  the  manufacturing  industries 
of  England,  there  was  a  hand  loom  or  a  spinning 
wheel  in  each  household,  and  thus  the  income  of  the 
family  was  increased.  This  was  all  changed  when 
capital  began  its  work  and  the  great  factories  furnish- 
ing labor  for  hundreds  of  men  were  built.  Then  the 
individual  manufacturer — the  real  meaning  of  the 
word  is  one  who  works  with  his  own  hand — could  no 
longer  compete  with  the  factory  and  so  passed  out  of 
existence.  Can  we  not  see  that  our  agricultural  in- 
terest are  on  the  threshhold  of  such  a  stage  of  de- 
velopment ? 

Our  aim  in  this  chapter  was  to  show  that  agricul- 
tural work  stood  on  about  the  same  plane  as  work  in 
general.  We  showed  from  the  returns  of  the  census, 
that  the  average  value  of  the  products  raised  by  the 
average  agricultural  worker,  were  not  greatly  different 
from  the  average  wages  received  by  the  average  work- 
man. And  these  figures  confirmed  what  was  the 
general  impression,  that  while  labor  had  really  im- 
proved its  condition  between  the  years  1870  and  1880, 
agriculture  had  not.  Relatively,  it  had  fallen  behind 
in  the  race.  On  inquiry,  we  find  the  reason  for  this 
statement  to  lie  in  the  fact  that  agricultural  labor  fol- 
lows the  general  law  of  labor.  If  for  any  cause  labor 
in  general  has  become  simply  a  commodity,  is  worth 


200  AGRICULTURE. 

in  the  markets  only  subsistence  wages,  then  we  may 
•  depend  upon  it,  agricultural  returns  will  sink  to  the 
same  level.     And  questioning  the  future,  we  can  see 
no   good  reason  for  hoping  this  will  even  be  better  as 
far  as  the  great  mass  of  people  depending  on  agricul- 
ture is  concerned.    As  land  rises  in  value,  so  will  rent 
rise.    If  twenty-six  per  cent  of  the  farms  in  the  United 
States  are  worked  by  renters  now,  or  rather,  were  so 
worked  in    1880,   we   may   look    for  this   number  to 
rapidly  increase.     We  may  look  for  capital  to  become 
more  interested  in  agricultural  pursuits  than  previously. 
In  England  it  took  some  centuries  for  their  system  of 
tenant  farming  to  come  into  vogue.     In  this  country, 
undoubtedly,  the  change  will  be  effected  much  more 
rapidly.     In  fact,  within  the  last  few  years  we  have 
taken  immense  strides  in  bringing  about  in  our  country 
a  condition  of  things  similar  to  that  already  existing 
in  Europe,  after  some  centuries  of  slow  change. 

We  are  not  yet  ready  to  consider  remedies,  but 
we  can  not  help  reverting  to  some,  It  is,  probably, 
evident  that  as  far  as  the  average  agriculturalist  is 
concerned,  his  condition  has  not  been  improved  by  im- 
proved machinery.  Does  he  make  any  better  living 
with  self-binders  than  he  did  with  hand-cradles?  Here, 
as  in  the  case  of  manual  labor,  it  is  not  the  one  who 
labors  that  reaps  the  profit  of  machinery.  Does  it 
depend  on  the  cost  of  exchange  ?  If  you  could  really 
do  away  with  all  the  middle-men,  could  you  secure 
exact  justice  from  the  railroads,  and  transport  be  ob» 


ARGICULTURE.  201 

tained  at  much  less  figures  than  at  present,  under 
those  conditions  is  it  clear  that  relief  would  be  imme- 
diate and  lasting?  On  the  other  hand,  is  it  not  clear 
that  the  law  of  labor  compensation  would  still  hold 
sway,  and  price  of  produce  fall,  so  that  the  return  for 
the  labor  would  be — as  before — simply  a  living.  Un- 
less we  have  made  some  mistake,  agricultural  interests, 
like  the  interests  of  labor,  rest  down  on  a  deeper  prin- 
ciple than  such  questions  as  these. 

It  may  be  said  that  granting  the  truth  of  what  is 
said,  still  no  real  objections  can  be  raised  to  a  system 
which  enable  men  to  obtain  a  living.  If  the  rewards 
of  labor,  whether  agricultural  or  otherwise,  really  re- 
turn a  man  a  living,  why  that  is  all  that  he  can  rea- 
sonably ask.  The  answer  depends  on  what  kind  of  a 
living  is  meant,  what  is  the  standard  of  comfort  ? 
Prof.  Ely  tells  us  that  what  the  standard  ought  to  be. 
u  It  should  include  provisions  for  all  real  needs  and 
provision  for  accidents  ;  future  emergencies,  disability 
on  account  of  old  age,  and  the  like  should  be  included. 
A  deposit  in  the  saving  bank,  and  insurance  policies 
ought  to  be  a  part  of  the  habitual  standard  of  life." 
Very  good  ;  unfortunately  it  is  not  the  case.  Taking 
a  long  lapse  of  time  into  consideration,  it  is  probably 
true  that  this  standard  has  slowly  risen  with  advanc- 
ing civilization.  It  will  inevitably  lag  behind  what  it 
ought  to  be.  Civilization  is  constantly  developing 
new  wants,  and  means  of  satisfying  them.  Compar- 
atively few  of  these  wants,  and  those  only  the  most 


202  AGRICULTURE. 

important,  and  even  then  after  a  long  struggle,  can  be- 
come a  part  of  the  standard  of  comfort.  And  in  the 
meantime — and  here  is  a  stern,  cruel  fact  confronting 
us — such/  is  the  very  nature  of  industrial  progress  that 
at  present  an  increasingly  large  proportion  of  the 
whole  army  of  laborers,  is  gradually  sinking  to  a 
lower  social  level.  They  may  still  earn  a  living,  but 
it  will  be  on  a  lower  level.  If  agriculturalists  now 
earn  a  comparatively  good  living,  they  will  have  to 
be  content  with  a  lower  level  when  there  are  nothing 
but  tenant  farmers,  even  though  the  standard  of  the 
tenant  farmers  should  be  raised  above  its  present 
level.  If  laborers  are  not  satisfied  now,  what  will 
their  lot  be  when  another  century  of  industrial  prog- 
ress has  passed  ?  It  makes  no  difference  if  their 
living,  as  a  whole,  be  higher  than  it  is  now,  still,  it 
will  be  so  far  behind  what  it  ought  to  be,  read  in  the 
light  of  probable  advance  of  the  time,  that  they  will 
rightfully  be  dissatisfied.  If  the  advance  of  civiliza- 
tion is  such  that  the  more  favored  classes  have  ad- 
vanced some  one  hundred  degrees  on  the  scale,  but 
workmen  only  say  twenty  degrees,  then  relatively 
they  will  be  worse  off. 

But  we  anticipate  that  long  before  another  cent- 
ury shall  have  passed  by,  very  great  changes  will  have 
been  introduced  into  the  present  industrial  system, 
by  which  the  present  dangers  at  least  will  be  avoided. 
One  evidence  of  this  is  that  the  laboring  world — and 
in  that  expression  we  of  course   include  agricultural 


AGMCULTUKE.  203 

workers — is  now  wide  awake  to  the  dangers  that  con- 
front it.  The  people  are  reading,  thinking,  talking,  or- 
ganizing and  propose  to  act.  And  in  this  we  are 
sure  they  will  have  the  sympathy  of  the  majority  of 
thinking  men,  a  people  can  never  prosper  unless 
all  classes  share  in  the  prosperity.  A  civilization  that 
proposes  to  advance  one  class  at  the  expense  of  an- 
other ought  to  be  doomed.  Let  us  never  make  the 
mistake  of  supposing  that  "  whatever  is  is  right,"  at 
least  in  industrial  affairs.  He  would  be  a  bold  prophet 
indeed  who  would  venture  to  predict  what  the  future 
has  in  store  for  us,  many  pet  theories  will  probable  be 
shattered,  but  some  sort  of  a  change  is  impending. 

A  survey  of  history  strengthens  this  conclusion, 
for  we  see  that  civilization  has  frequently  introduced 
very  great  changes  To  one  who  understands  the 
nature  of  Ancient  Society,  the  complex  organization 
of  tribes,  and  knows  that  it  everywhere  preceded  polit- 
ical or  modern  society — it  is  a  matter  of  astonishment 
that  mankind  ever  made  the  change  from  one  to  the 
other.  But  a  time  simply  came  when  tribal  society 
was  unable  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  day,  it  had  to 
give  way.  Consider  also  the  ingenious  organization 
of  the  gilds,  what  a  quaint  adaptation  of  older  forms 
of  organization,  to  meet  the  pressure  of  new  wants. 
This  in  turn  gave  way  to  the  present  capitalist  age, 
which  seems  now  to  have  served  its  day.  It  is  going. 
If  we  do  not  understand  the  change  ahead,  yet  we 
feel  sure  a  new  age  is  coming.     Let  all  those  on  whom 

13 


204  AGRICULTURE. 

the  pressure  of  present  difficulties  seem  too  great  to 

bear,  take  courage : 

"  Jocund  day- 
Stands  tiptoe  on  the  misty  mountain  tops." 

No  one  in  his  senses  thinks  that  a  time  will  ever 

come  when  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  labor,  for  that 

is,  and  ever  will  be,  the  price  of  human  good.     It  will 

ever  be  necessary  to  "  run  with  patience  the  race  set 

before  us,"  but  we  do  think  mankind  will  devise  some 

plan,  with  justice  to   all,   by  which  rewards  will  be 

more  in  proportion  to  the  work  done. 


TENDENCY  OF   CAPITAL. 


207 


TENDENCY  OF  CAPITAL. 

Slow  Growth  of  Social  Institutions — Advantages  of  a  Settled 
Life — Introduction  of  our  present  System — Advantages  of  our  Pres- 
ent System — In  what  Respect  an  Advance  on  the  Preceding — The 
Evils  of  the  Same — The  Principles  on  which  Capital  must  depend 
to  make  Profit — Necessity  of  getting  Cheap  Labor — Ricardo's  Law 
Again — Wages  effected  by  the  Necessities  of  the  Laborers — Labor 
a  Perishable  Commodity— -  Capitalist  Production  one-sided — The 
Situation  Summed  Up — Capitalist  Production  must  be  Judged  by 
its  Fruits — The  Story  of  Spring  Valley — Booming  the  Town — 
Dooming  the  Town — The  Lock-out — The  Results — Sufferings  In- 
flicted— The  Warning  to  be  drawn — Conclusion, 


DISCUSSING  the  nature  and  tendency 
of  our  present  industrial  system,  we 
must  consider  that  being  a  stage  of 
evolution  or  growth  reached  by  our 
advancing  civilization,  it  must,  in 
many  respects,  represent  an  actual  advance 
over  previous  conditions.  It  must  have  met 
some  want  of  the  times,  or  else  it  would  not  have 
sprung  into  existence.  Social  stages  of  growth,  such 
as  this  are  not  ushered  into  existence  in  complete 
working  order.  There  are  preceded  by  a  long  period 
of  slow  transition.  The  evils  by  which  each  state  are 
attended  are   likewise  of  slow  growth.     They  grow 


208  TENDENCY    OF  CAPITAL. 

and  develop  with  the  growth  of  the  system  itself,  until, 
finally,  they  reach  a  stage  in  which  the  evils  actually 
outweigh  the  good,  and  so  a  change  is  imperatively 
demanded  by  civilization  in  general.  No  one  doubts, 
for  instance,  that  settled  agricultural  life  represents  an 
advance  over  previous  nomadic  life.  It  is  difficult  to 
see  how  anything  worthy  the  name  of  civilization 
could  have  come  into  being  unless  men  had  adopted 
a  settled  mode  of  life. 

The  wants  of  nomads  are  few  and  simple,  their 
very  manner  of  life  prevents  them  from  forming  new 
wants  and  trying  to  realize  the  same.  In  many  ways 
a  settled  life  changes  all  this.  The  people  are  no 
longer  contented  with  rude  hovels  to  live  in,  they  be- 
gin to  improve  them  in  many  ways.  They  put  in  a 
floor,  they  build  chimneys,  finally  using  glass  for  win- 
dows. They  partition  them  off  into  rooms,  they  invent 
better  furniture.  Better  clothing,  better  food  are  the 
accompaniments  of  changed  habitations.  All  this 
tends  to  develop  healthier  bodies  and  stronger  minds, 
arts  and  science  are  cultivated  ;  and  so  in  all  direc- 
tions progress  goes  forward.  But  have  we  not  seen 
the  reverse  side  of  this  picture  ?  Do  we  not  know 
that  in  nearly  every  case  the  free  agricultural  workers 
sank  into  a  state  of  villanage  ? 

According  we  traced  the  efforts  made  by  the  mass 
of  the  people  to  raise  'themselves,  to  shake  off  the 
feudal  lord,  we  traced  the  gradual  growth  of  the 
towns,     The  people  of  the  towns,  as  they  freed  them- 


TENDENCY    OF   CAPITAL.  209 

selves  from  the  restraints  of  the  feudal  lord,  not  know- 
ing any  other  form  of  organization,  adopted  the  gild 
system,  each  trade  organized  as  a  gens  apart  by  itself. 
A  distinct  advance  was  thus  made.     The  evils  of  the 
system,  or  the  one  that  comes  most  prominently  to 
view,  was  that  it  tended  to  repress  individual  energy. 
If  every  trade  was  fully  organized,  a  plain  road  marked 
out  for  all  to  follow,  we  can  at  once  see  that  the  tend- 
ency would  be  to  make  advance  difficult.     While  the 
inhabitants  of  a  town  were  thus  feeling  their  way  to 
some  new  system,  the  agricultural  laborers  had  been 
slowly  breaking  up  the  system  of  villanage.    Advance 
would  certainly  tend   in  the  direction  most  ardently 
desired  by  the  respective  classes  of  citizens,  rural  and 
urban.       The   mass   of  the  rural   population   desired 
freedom  from  the  vexatious  incidents  of  villanage,  this 
in  their  eyes,  was  the  great  thing  to  be  desired,  they 
achieved  their  wish  but  forgot  to  retain  their  hold  on 
the  land,  accordingly,  with  the  break  down  of  the  gild 
system,  the  setting  free  of  individual  energy  and  com- 
petition, the  formation  of  a  body  of  laborers  greatly 
forwarded  by  the  wonderful   maritime  discoveries  of 
the  day,  the  present  industrial  system  was  ushered  in. 
We  have  considered  the  meaning  of  the  word 
capital,  of  value,  and  have  considered  the  general  law 
of  the  value  of  labor.  Though  only  just  on  the  thresh- 
old of  our  inquiry,   surely  most  grievous  evils   have 
been  disclosed  to  view.     Evils  quite  as  unexpected  in 
the  dawn  of  this  system  as  it  was  unforseen  that  vil- 


210  TENDENCY   OF   CAPITAL. 

lanage  would  engraft  itself  on  the  free  village  com- 
munity. We  must  now  consider  with  more  care,  both 
the  good  and  bad  side  of  our  present  system.  It  is 
surely  not  necessary  to  declare  that  after  all,  the  pres- 
ent system  is  an  advance  upon  the  slavery  of  serfdom. 
Liberty  is  worth  not  only  fighting  for,  but  suffering 
for.  The  workman  can,  as  a  rule,  choose  his  own 
work  and  his  own  employer.  In  cases,  of  course, 
stern  necessity  compels  him  to  take  the  very  first 
thing  that  is  offered.  In  this  country,  and  at  the 
present  time,  it  is  certainly  true  that  a  workman  can 
rise  in  the  scale.  The  trouble  is  that  such  a  state  of 
affairs  tend  every  year  to  become  more  difficult.  Still, 
as  a  recent  writer  remarks,  "the  history  of  the  con- 
version of  the  serf  into  the  wage  receiver  is  a  proud 
chapter  in  the  history  of  civilization." 

'  There  is  farther,  no  question  that  our  modern 
system  has  enormously  developed  individual  enterprise. 
Valuable  prizes  were  to  be  obtained  by  shrewd,  far- 
seeing  men  in  opening  up  new  avenues  of  trade.  It 
stimulated  inventive  industry  to  the  utmost.  The 
wonderful  inventions  of  the  past  century  are  tributes 
to  the  worth  of  this  system.  Railroads,  steam-ships 
?,nd  the  telegraph  system  sprang  into  being,  because 
men  were  bent  on  wresting  from  nature  some  secret 
that  would  enable  them  to  amass  wealth  and  conse- 
quent power.  The  marvelously  rapid  advance  of 
civilization  during  the  last  two  hundred  years  could 
scarcely  have  been  possible  under  the  older  systems. 


TENDENCY  OF   CAPITAL.  2H 

We  can  say  all  this  and  still  declair  that  the  evils  are 
great,  almost  unbearable.  In  view  of  the  splendid 
advances  made,  we  could  have  nothing  to  say,  did  we 
not  believe  that  in  some  way  tfoe  advantages  of  the 
present  may  be  retained  without,  at  the  same  time  re- 
taining its  evil  features. 

The  last  two  centuries  have  seen  a  wonderful  ex- 
tension of  Aryan  people  of  Europe.  They  have  colo- 
nized the  new  world,  many  of  the  islands  of  the  Pacific 
and  the  continent  of  Australia.  At  various  times  in 
the  world's  history  we  can  detect  the  movement  of 
great  masses  of  people,  but  this  last  period  has  been 
on  a  larger  scale  than  ever  before.  Every  year  an 
army  of  emigrants  arrive  on  our  shores  larger  than 
many  of  the  armies  of  the  invaders  that  made  the 
Mistress  of  the  World  tremble,  in  the  first  few  centuries 
of  our  era.  The  capitalist  age  was  largely  called  into 
being  by  the  opening  of  the  world  market,  but  it  was 
also  a  cause  of  further  colonization.  It  is  doubtful  if 
such  an  extensive  system  of  colonization  could  have 
been  possible  under  any  of  the  older  systems.  People 
indeed  migrated,  but  they  moved  en-mass.  Tribes 
and  nations  moved  as  one  body. 

So  we  could  point  out  a  great  many  respects  in 
which  our  present  industrial  system  is  an  advance 
over  what  has  preceded.  There  is  one  way  of  looking 
at  the  matter,  which  certainly  carries  with  it  great 
weight.  Even  a  cursory  glance  at  the  development 
of  civilization  shows  us  that  progress  has  been  from 


212  TENDENCY  OP   CAPITAL. 

the  group  to  the  individual.  With  every  advance  in 
civilization  we  have  drawn  nearer  to  the  individual 
and  individual  rights,  until  the  distinguishing  mark  of 
our  present  age  is  its  individuality.  Surely  we  seem 
to  have  now  reached  the  culmination  of  progress  in 
this  direction,  why  look  for  any  further  change?  This 
very  argument  is  put  forward  by  men  who  are  conver- 
sant with  the  growth  of  civilization.  Still,  we  conceive 
that  while  in  one  direction  rights  and  duties  have 
come  to  be  more  and  more  a  matter  of  individuals,  yet 
in  another  direction  they  have  been  gradually  widen- 
ing. In  early  times  a  man  of  another  tribe,  of  another 
village  or  town  even,  had  no  rights  at  all  in  a  strange 
community.  Now  in  this  direction  the  sphere  of  rights 
and  duties  has  been  widening.  While  holding  fast  to 
the  idea  of  individuality  why  should  we  not  come  to 
see  that  the  whole  community,  state  or  nation  forms  a 
new  social  unit  in  which  the  welfare  of  each  is  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  welfare  of  all  ? 

But  if  the  good  qualities  are  many,  the  evils  are 
certainly  very  great  also.  We  have  already  had  to 
consider  the  mere  fact  that  labor  with  us  is  simply  a 
commodity,  and  as  such  is  entitled  to  just  what  will 
produce  it  or  in  short  a  living.  The  end  of  human 
existence  is  human  happiness.  What  civilization 
should  especially  concern  itself  with,  therefore,  is  the 
greatest  possible  good  for  all.  It  must  be  evident 
that  such  a  state  of  society  as  we  have  discussed 
tends  inevitably  to  the  greatest  good  of  the  few,  not 


TENDENCY    OF    CAPITAL.  213 

of  all.  But  while  it  is  easy  thus  to  condemn  off-hand 
and  on  general  principles,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to 
give  more  in  detail.  So  let  us  take  up  some  of  the 
principles  and  examine  them  more  carefully. 

.  People  are  not  as  a  rule  in  business  for  pleasure. 
They  may  have  engaged  in  it  for  so  long  a  time  that 
it  comes  second  nature  to  them,  and  they  work  for 
the  mere  sake  of  working;  we  may  be  very  sure, 
however,  they  would  not  be  thus  engaged  unless  they 
found  enjoyment  in  so  doing,  and  there  would  cer- 
tainly be  no  enjoyment  unless  the  business  was  pros- 
perous. So  it  finally  comes  around  to  the  same 
point,  which  is  undoubtedly  true  in  the  majority  of 
cases,  people  are  in  business  to  make  money.  Drop- 
ping all  references  to  individuals  we  can  say  that  cap- 
ital is  in  business  to  make  money-  But  capital  can 
only  deal  with  things  as  it  finds  them.  It  cannot  ig- 
nore the  laws  of  arithmetic,  and  so  it  must  figure  in 
a  cold  blooded  way  with  the  elements  of  the  problem. 
If  it  is  going  to  make  surplus  value  there  is  only  one 
general  course  of  action  for  it  to  pursue.  The  labor- 
machine,  the  laborer,  must  in  the  first  place  be  ob- 
tained at  the  lowest  possible  rate  of  wages,  and  in  the 
second  place  his  work  must  be  made  to  yield  as  much 
as  possible.  There  is  nothing  else  to  be  taken  into 
consideration.  On  these  two  statements  hangs,  if 
not  all  the  law,  certainly  all  the  "  profits."  Let  us 
examine  them  more  closely. 

He  must   get  his  labor  as  cheaply  as  possible. 


214  TENDENCY    OF    CAPITAL. 

This  is  in  the  nature  of  an  axiom.  It  needs  only  to 
be  stated  to  be  seen  to  be  true.  Capital  is  in  busi- 
ness to  make  profit.  The  socialist  say  that  capital  is 
a  sponge  to  soak  up  surplus  value.  It  is. impelled  by 
the  nature  of  things  to  force  the  wages  down  to  as 
low  a  rate  as  possible.  You  may  call  it  selfishness, 
cold  business  calculation,  or  any  name  you  prefer,  but 
the  simple  fact  is,  as  long  as  human  nature  is  what  it 
is,  capital  is  bound  to  do  all  it  can  to  make  wages 
cheap.  So  we  see  on  reflection  that  not  only  is  labor 
bound  to  sink  to  subsistence  wages  on  general  prin- 
ciples, so  to  speak,  but  the  very  life  of  capital  de- 
pends on  depressing  it  to  that  level. 

Capital  is  not  at  all  concerned  in  the  welfare  of 
its  employes.  That  is  a  very  cold-blooded  expres- 
sion to  make,  and  yet  how  true  it  is.  We  are  talk- 
ing about  their  welfare  as  far  as  it  depends  on  wages. 
A  great  corporation  may  indeed  provide  reading 
rooms,  free  lectures,  gymnasiums,  even  model  tene- 
ment houses,  but  at  the  same  time  wages  sink  to  the 
lowest  possible  level.  Sometimes  public  opinion  is  so 
strongly  on  the  side  of  the  laborers  that  the  company 
raise  wages,  but  those  are  only  exceptional  cases. 
We  can  see  that  the  system  of  production,  capital  on 
one  side,  hungry  workmen  on  the  other,  actually 
forces  capital  to  take  this  position.  Supposing  a 
wealthy  philanthropist  concludes  to  start  up  a  rolling- 
mill  which  will  give  employment  to  a  thousand  hands. 
No   matter  how  willing    he   may  be   to  give  wages 


TENDENCY   OF   CAPITAL.  215 

double  what  any  other  employer  may  give,  yet  he 
can  not  do  so  and  remain  in  business.  As  long  as 
competition  is  as  it  is  he  must  buy  his  material  as 
cheap  as  the  average  rolling-mill  manufacturers,  or  he 
can  not  compete.  It  would  be  just  as  reasonable  for 
him  to  give  twice  as  much  for  the  iron  ore  as  it  was 
worth  as  to  give  his  laborers  more  than  the  average 
mill  man. 

This  is  but  a  restatement  with  very  slight 
variation  of  Ricardo's  law  of  wages.  What  we  be- 
fore found  to  be  true  simply  from  reasoning  about 
value  in  general,  we  now  see  to  be  true  from  the  very 
fact  that  capital  engages  in  business  simply  to  make 
profit,  and  it  is  therefore  its  interest  to  force 
wages  down  to  the  lowest  limit.  There  is  in  this  no 
occasion  for  outcry  against  hard-hearted  capitalists. 
It  would  be  fully  as  reasonable  to  complain  that  you 
can  get  no  more  for  wheat  for  instance,  than  what  it  is 
worth  in  the  market  as  to  complain  because  wages 
are  forced  down  to  subsistence  level.  Neither  can 
we  see  any  possible  change  as  long  as  the  present 
system  remains  in  force.  It  seems  to  us  about  as 
reasonable  to  try  and  lift  yourself  up  by  the  boot- 
straps as  to  believe  that  the  laboring  world  can  greatly 
improve  its  present  position  as  long  as  labor  is  simply 
a  commodity,  to  be  paid  for  by  wages.  One  of  the 
very  best  reasons  for  concluding  we  are  right  is  the 
fact  that  there  is  an  illy-defined  feeling  that  something 
is  wrong.     Public  opinion,  the  conscience  of  the  age, 


216  TENDENCY  OP   CAPITAL. 

begins  to  see  that  someway  or  other  wages  ought  to 
bear  a  proportion  to  the  total  amount  of  profit.  This 
is  seen  in  various  schemes  of  profit  sharing,  of  co- 
operation, etc.  These  various  schemes  are  signs  that 
society  as  a  whole  is  casting  about  for  some  as  yet 
undecided  way  to  get  rid  of  wages.  It  is  coming, 
and  we  do  not  think  there  will  be  any  very  stormy 
times  either.  Expanding  civilization  will  take  on  a 
higher  form,  that  is  all. 

Not  only  is  it  in  the  very  nature  of  value  that 
wages  should   hover  about   the  level  of  mere   living 
wages,   not  only   is   it   for  the  interest  of  capital  to 
force  them  down,  but — as  if  all  the  advantages  in  this 
unequal  fight  were  on    the  side  of  capital — it  has  at 
least  heretofore  been   almost  wholly   in   the  power  of 
capital  to  enforce  its  demands.     This    comes   about 
from    the  peculiar   nature   of  labor   considered   as  a 
commodity.      Let  us  illustrate  this  point.     Suppose 
we  were  to  enter  a  well  stocked  store,  the  proprietor 
of  which  was  prosperous.     On  the  shelves  and  in  the 
dressers,  or   in  the  various  rooms,  are  to  be   found 
all  sorts  of  commodities,  from  a  paper  of  pins  to  a 
suit  of  clothes,  from  a  smoked  herring  to  a  barrel  of 
sugar,  from  a  boot-jack  to  a  chamber  set.     No  matter 
if  the   weather  be  stormy  and   we  chance  to  be  the 
only  customer  in  the  store,  we  will  quickly  discover 
that  every  article  has  a  reserve   price,  and  we  must 
either  pay  the  price  or  go  without  the  goods.    It  is  no 
use  to  remind   him  that  there  is  no  competition,  no 


TENDENCY  OF    CAPITAL.  217 

present  demand  for  his  goods,  he  is  under  no  pressure 
to  sell  and  your  efforts  to  beat  him  down  are  vain. 
Three  months  later  circumstances  may  have  changed 
with  the  proprietor.  He  may  be  extremely  anxious 
to  dispose  of  his  stock.  He  is  ready  to  offer  you  bar- 
gains now.  If  he  can  not  get  his  price  he  may  ac- 
cept what  you  have  to  offer.  Perhaps  a  little  later 
still  you  may  witness  still  a  third  phase  of  the  busi- 
ness. He  wishes  absolutely  to  retire  from  business. 
The  auctioneer  is  called  in  and  things  go  for  what 
they  will  bring.  It  may  be  only  a  fraction  of  what  he 
would  have  accepted  a  few  months  previously.  Here 
then  we  see  that  the  prices  of  commodities  may  de- 
pend on  the  necessities  of  those  offering  them  for  sale. 
One  more  example  must  be  referred  to.  In  all 
our  large  towns  are  men  who  make  a  specialty  of 
dealing  in  summer  fruits,  pears,  peaches,  berries  and 
melons.  On  ordinary  occasions  such  a  dealer's  prices 
will  be  very  steady,  varying  of  course  with  the  abund- 
ance of  the  supplies  on  hand.  But  it  sometimes  hap- 
pens, there  comes  a  glut  in  some  one  branch,  peaches 
for  instance.  Not  only  has  he  a  big  supply  on  hand 
but  every  hour  sees  his  stock  increasing.  Anxious 
growers  for  hundreds  of  miles  around  are  rushing 
their  ripened  fruit  to  market.  Now  fruit  is  not  a  com- 
modity, like  sugar  for  example,  which  if  you  do  not 
sell  to-day  will  keep  for  an  indefinite  time,  the  fruit 
must  be  gotten  rid  of  soon  or  go  to  the  dumps. 
Down   drop    prices,  down,    down,   until  all   profit  is 


218  TENDENCY    OF  CAPITAL. 

wiped  out.     The   commodity  he  had  to  sell  was  a 
perishable  one  and  had  to  be  gotten  rid  of. 

Now  the  laborer,  having  only  his  labor  to  sell, 
suffers  from  both  of  these  causes.  He  is  under  neces- 
sity, as  a  general  rule,  to  sell,  and  further  his  commo- 
dity is  the  most  perishable  of  all  commodities,  hence 
capital,  which  is  the  only  customer  of  labor,  as  natur- 
ally takes  advantage  of  such  a  combination  of  circum- 
stances as  the  general  public  does  of  a  forced  sale  in 
commodities  in  general,  or  of  goods  that  will  not 
keep.  In  the  first  place  the  laborer  is  under  necessity 
of  selling  his  labor.  We  all  know  what  that  neces- 
sity is,  hunger  is  one  element  aud  that  the  grimest  of 
all.  He  must  work  or  starve.  The  average  free 
born  man  shrinks  with  loathing  from  accepting  aid 
from  others.  Men  are  not  of  choice  tramps  or  crim- 
inal, save  of  course  in  exceptional  cases.  But  the 
workman  is  not  alone  in  his  suffering.  In  a  majority 
of  cases  there  are  others  depending  on  him,  wife  and 
children.  Do  not  all  see  there  is  a  terrible  pressure 
put  on  the  workman  to  dispose  of  his  ware?  The 
comfortably  well  off  world  little  realizes  what  some 
sections  of  the  laboring  world,  impelled  by  dire  ne- 
cessity, undergo  to  provide  for  themselves  and  those 
dependent  on  them.  Let  us  make  no  mistake.  There 
is  no  commodity,  the  possessor  of  which  is  under  so 
great  a  pressure  to  sell  as  he  who  has  only  labor  to 
sell.  His  very  life  and  the  life  of  others  is  at  stake. 
Hunger,  sickness   and  want  of  every  kind   stare  him 


TENDENCY  OF   CAPITAL.  219 

in  the  face.  He  must  dispose  of  his  commodity,  even 
at  the  lowest  wages.  It  was  Solomon  of  old  who 
wrote,  "the  destruction  of  the  poor  is  their  poverty." 
Not  only  is  he  under  pressure  of  dire  necessity  to 
sell  his  ware,  but  his  commodity  is  the  most  perish- 
able of  all  commodities.  All  other  commodities  may 
be  stored  up  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time  without  loss 
either  in  quantity  or  quality.  But  labor  cannot  be 
left  unused  for  one  moment  without  partially  wasting 
away.  Unless  it  be  sold  immediatly,  some  portions 
of  it  can  never  be  sold  at  all.  To-day's  labor  cannot 
be  sold  after  to-day,  for  by  to-morrow  it  will  have 
wasted  away.  No  matter  how  short  a  time  a  laborer 
postpones  the  sale  of  his  labor,  he  has  certainly  lost 
the  whole  price  of  his  labor  for  the  time  he  was  wait- 
ing. The  over-stocked  dealer  in  fruit,  before  consent- 
ing to  a  wholesale  reduction,  may  wait  till  noon,  in 
the  hope  that  demand  may  be  a  little  more  brisk  then. 
He  will,  at  least,  have  as  much  to  sell  as  he  has  now. 
The  laborer  who  waits  till  noon  in  the  hopes  that 
afternoon  wages  may  be  much  better,  may  have  his 
hopes  realized,  but  it  is  positively  sure  that  he  will 
have  only  half  the  amount  of  labor  to  sell.  And  in 
the  meanwhile  his  daily  wants  have  not  forgotten  to 
make  themselves  heard.  Other  articles  are  sold  by 
the  piece,  peck,  pound  or  yard.  Labor  is  sold  by  the 
day  or  hour,  even  in  contracts  by  the  job  it  is  carefully 
calculated  how  much  time  is  necessary.  All  the  power, 
science  and  skill  in  the  world  cant  stay  the  flight  of 


220  TENDENCY   OF    CAPITAL. 

time.  Freezing,  canning  or  chemicals  may  preserve 
fruits  for  further  use,  but  no  step  can  be  taken  to  pre- 
vent the  waste  of  time  which  enters  into  the  computa- 
tion of  labor. 

Of  a  truth,  the  more  we  examine  the  question  the 
more  surprising  it  seems  that  in  spite  of  its  advantages 
which  we  have  tried  to  point  out,  that  the  system  of 
wagedom  or  capitalist  production  was  ever  allowed  to 
develop.  It  is  altogether  one-sided.  From  every 
point  of  view  labor  is  at  a  disadvantage.  Labor  is  a 
commodity,  therefore  according  to  the  law  of  value,  it 
will  bring  only  subsistence  wages.  It  is  a  commodity, 
therefore  capital  will,  most  certainly,  procure  it  at  the 
lowest  price  it  can,  the  same  as  it  does  iron  and  coal. 
Once  again  labor  is  a  commodity,  but  it  is  placed  at  a 
great  disadvantage  besides  all  other  commodities, 
since  its  possessors  are  under  the  sternest  necessity 
to  sell,  and  further  it  is  such  an  extremely  perishable 
article  that  the  only  way  to  realize  on  it  is  to  sell  it  at 
once.  Is  it  any  surprise  then  that  we  find  a  great 
deal  of  misery  and  distress  in  the  world,  need  we 
wonder  that  many  signs  of  an  impending  change  are 
discernible,  can  we  doubt  that  the  general  conscience 
of  the  people  will  demand,  in  the  name  of  simple 
equity  alone,  that  some  change  be  made,  and  that 
too,  soon. 

A  recent  writer  sums  up  the  situation  in  the  fol- 
lowing words,  which,  in  spite  of  their  sarcasm,  contain 
a  world  of  truth.     We  make  but  slight  change  in  the 


TENDENCY   OF   CAPITAL.  221 

words,  "  Here  is  the  laboring  classes  face  to  face  with 
capital,  which  holds  in  its  grip  the  means  of  subsistence. 
It  must  reach  those  means  of  subsistence  or  starve. 
The  terms  laid  down  for  its  acceptance  are  clear  and 
decisive,  we  will  place  within  your  hands  the  means 
of  existence  if  you  will  produce  sufficient  to  support 
us  as  well  as  yourselves,  and  if  you  will  consent  that 
the  whole  of  your  produce,  over  that  which  is  sufficient 
to  support  you  in  a  hardy,  frugal  life,  shall  be  the 
property  of  us  and  of  our  children.  If  you  are  very 
thrifty,  very  self-denying  and  very  lucky  you  may  be 
able  to  save  enough  out  of  your  small  share  of  the 
produce  to  feed  yourself  in  your  old  age  and  so  avoid 
falling  back  on  us.  The  children  will  tread  the  same 
mill-round,  and  we  hope  you  will  remain  contented 
with  the  position  in  which  Providence  has  placed  you, 
and  not  envy  those  born  to  a  higher  lot." 

Intentions  do  not  count  in  business,  it  is  what  a 
man  does  that  condemns  or  praises,  not  his  intentions. 
We  gather  what  his  intentions  are  from  what  he 
actually  does.  Something  of  the  same  kind  of  remarks 
must  be  made  as  to  capital  in  general.  We  have  to 
judge  it  by  its  fruits.  The  agents  manipulating  this 
powerful  weapon  are  neither  more  nor  less  than  ordi- 
nary men.  When  the  system  puts  every  advantage 
in  their  hands  it  would  indeed  be  passing  strange  if 
they  did  not  look  out  for  self-interest.  In  the  days  of 
villanage  and  the  early  days  of  the  gild  system,  when 
the  present  system  was  slowly  coming  into  use,  prob- 


222  TENDENCY   OF    CAPITAL. 

ably  no  one  could  have  foreseen  the  practical  conse- 
quence, or  practical  evils,  as  we  might  say,  which 
were  inseparably  connected  with  it.  They  have  come 
to  the  front  with  the  growth  of  modern  industry. 
Probably  no  one  could  foresee  that  the  new  system 
meant  the  gradual  disappearance  of  the  yeoman  farm- 
ers of  England.  That  was  as  much  unforseen  as  it 
is  generally  unforseen  that  the  evils  under  which  the 
agriculturalists  of  this  country  are  laboring  are  caused 
also  by  the  simple  fact  that  labor  is  a  commodity. 
With  official  figures  before  us  from  which  it  can  be 
shown  that  the  rewards  of  labor  are  the  same  in  both 
spheres  of  activity,  it  will,  perhaps,  become  clearer 
how  the  one  class  of  laborers  partake  of  the  misery  of 
the  other.  Neither  is  it  now  generally  understood,  in 
this  country,  that  a  continuance  of  this  system  means 
the  ultimate  destruction  of  our  agricultural  system. 
And  yet  as  time  passes  on,  it  will  more  and  more  pay 
capital  to  really  take  hold  of  land. 

The  French  writer,  Bastiat,  has  written  on  the 
distinction  between  the  Seen  and  the  Unseen  in  eco- 
nomical matters.  Here  is  an  excellent  case  in  point. 
The  agriculturalist  sees  that  if  labor  is  only  cheap  he 
can  procure  on  easier  terms  such  hands  as  he  needs 
on  his  farm.  He  sees  that  if  labor  only  is  cheap  he 
can  procure  his  agricultural  implements  cheaper. 
What  he  does  not  see  is  the  fact  that  he  himself  par- 
takes in  the  general  prosperity  of  labor.  He  does  not 
see  that  the  value  of  the  produce  he  raises,  rises  and 


TENDENCY    OF    CAPITAL.  223 

falls  with  the  value  of  labor  generally.  He  knows 
that  the  laborer  is  generally  employed  in  manipulating 
productive  machinery,  he  fails  to  take  into  account 
that  he  himself  is  a  laborer  manipulating  one  of  the 
most  productive  of  machines,  the  soil.  He  fails  to  see 
that,  as  time  passes  on,  it  is  going  to  be  harder  and 
harder  for  those  possessed  of  a  small  machine — a 
small  farm — to  compete  with  the  larger  and  more 
prosperous.  He  does  not  seem  to  understand  that 
when  capital  once  seriously  turns  its  attention  to  farm- 
ing the  small  farmer  will  be  as  remorselessly  crushed 
out  or  turned  into  a  mere  tenant  farmer,  as  was  the 
hand  manufacturer  crushed  out  when  the  factory 
proper  started. 

From  what  we  have  seen  as  to  the  one-sidedness 
of  the  modern  industrial  system  we  would  naturally 
think  that  capital  would  be  abundantly  satisfied  with 
its  vantage  ground,  but  it  is  not.  It  actually  knows 
how  to  create  favoring  circumstances.  And  it  is  in 
this  matter  that  a  most  serious  indictment  can  be 
drawn.  It  seems  that  not  content  with  taking  what 
might  be  called  legitimate  use  of  the  advantages 
placed  in  its  hands,  capital  seeks  other  means  to 
achieve  its  ends.  We  can  illustrate  the  methods  by 
the  story  of  the  mining  town  of  Spring  Valley  in  Illi- 
nois. It  so  happens  that  coal  mining  offers  an  excep- 
tionally good  field  for  the  exploitation  of  labor  by 
capital.  Coal  mining  on  a  large  scale  means  the  con- 
centration of  large  numbers  of  laborers  in  one  locality. 


224  TENDENCY   OF   CAPITAL. 

They  are  not,  as  in  the  case  of  railroad  laborers,  scat- 
tered all  along  an  extended  line.  The  company  that 
owns  the  mines  generally  owns  many  of  the  houses  in 
which  the  miners  live,  and  they  generally  have  a  store 
in  which  the  miners  are  expected  to  trade.  So  here 
we  have  capitalist  production,  almost  in  its  normal 
form,  all  the  means  of  subsistence  in  the  hands  of 
capital,  and  a  large  body  of  workmen  on  the  other. 
So  in  mining  industry  we  have  a  good  example  of 
what  this  system  tends  to  bring  about. 

However,  we  are  not  ready  to  talk  about  monopo- 
lies just  yet.  Mr.  H.  D.  Lloyd  has  presented  to  the 
world  the  terrible  story  of  Spring  Valley.  A  story 
which  no  American  can  read  without  varied  emotions 
of  sorrow,  shame,  indignation  and  alarm.  Sorrow, 
when  we  read  of  the  vast  amount  of  suffering  caused 
by  the  acts  of  capital.  Shame,  when  we  think  that 
men,  who  as  individuals  lead  excellent  lives,  yet  as 
officials  of  a  corporation  resort  to  schemes  so  dastardly 
to  effect  their  purposes.  Indignation,  when  we  reflect 
that  they  are  legally  blameless,  and  are  to-day  enjoy- 
ing the  usufruct  of  their  acts.  Alarm,  when  we  can 
but  see  that  such  is  the  tendency  of  the  age,  that  the 
time  is  surely  coming  when,  if  the  proper  steps  are  not 
taken,  more  and  more  of  the  main  avenues  of  produc- 
tion will  be  as  thoroughly  under  the  control  of  capital 
as  is  coal  mining.  The  fact  is,  wealth,  although  it 
may  have  and  undoubtedly  does  have  a  refining  and 
elevating  influence,  as  truly  has  a  debasing  influence, 


TENDENCY  OF    CAPITAL,  225 

and  men  in  the  mad  pursuit  of  gold,  especially  if  their 
acts  are  veiled  behind  the  doings  of  corporations,  do 
not  shrink  from  acts  that  should  forever  condemn  them. 

As  is  well  known,  at  various  places  in  Illinois  coal 
exists  in  great  abundance,  Streator,  Braidwood  and 
LaSalle  may  be  mentioned  as  examples  The  Chicago 
and  Northwestern  railway  is  one  of  the  giant  corpo- 
rations of  the  West.  It  has  its  branches  and  leased 
lines  all  over  Northern  Illinois,  Northern  Iowa,  South- 
ern Wisconsin,  Southern  Minnesota  and  South  Dakota. 
Struck  with  this  fact,  a  number  of  wealthy  men  largely 
interested  in  the  railway,  some  of  them  being  directors 
in  the  same,  concluded  it  would  be  a  good  thing  to 
own  a  coal  field  of  their  own.  Not  only  could  the 
road  use  a  vast  amount  of  coal  for  its  engines,  but  we 
must  consider  the  immense  extent  of  territory,  the 
thousands  of  towns  which  must  be  supplied  with  coal 
from  some  source.  Accordingly,  no  less  than  three 
new  corporations  were  formed,  known  as  the  "  Spring 
Valley  Coal  Company,"  the  "Spring  Valley  Town 
Site  Company  "  and  the  "  North  West  Fuel  Company" 
of  St.  Paul.  There  was  an  umbilical  cord  connecting 
these  three  companies  to  each  other  and  to  the  North 
Western  Railway.  There  was  community  of  goods, 
community  of  interests  and  even  community  of  persons. 

Operations  were  commenced  by  buying  large 
tracts  of  land,  and  leasing  other  lands  in  Bureau 
County,  Illinois,  not  far  from  LaSalle.  Forty  thousand 
acres  were  thus  secured.     The  Coal  Company  was  to 


226  TENDENCY   OF  CAPITAL, 

develop  the  mines  ;  the  Town  Site  Company  to  boom 
the  town,  and  sell  off  building  lots  at  an  enormous 
advance  of  what  it  cost  the  company  to  buy.  The 
Railway  Company  built  a  branch  road  from  Belvidere, 
on  the  main  line,  and  was  to  do  the  hauling  of  the  coal 
and  purchase  what  it  needed  for  its  own  use.  The 
Fuel  Company  at  St.  Paul  attended  to  business  at  its 
end  of  the  line  by  supplying  the  innumerable  towns 
with  coal.  We  must  remember  that  these  various 
companies  were  largely  composed  of  the  same  men 
and  interests.  So  far  so  good.  Nothing  but  brisk 
business  from  the  word  "go."  But  to  carry  on  the 
mining  operations,  and  to  boom  the  town,  a  large 
population  must  be  gathered. 

Accordingly,  in  the  Spring  of  1885,  most  glowing 
advertisements  were  circulated  all  over  the  country  in 
pamphlets  and  newspapers,  mentioning  the  many  ad- 
vantages to  be  found  in  the  new  town.  Miners  were 
assured  that  there  was  no  doubt  of  steady  work  and 
good  wages,  where  they  could  procure  homes  on  most 
excellent  terms.  The  bait  took.  From  all  the  coal- 
mining towns  around,  miners  sold  their  little  homes 
and  moved  to  Spring  Valley.  Business  men  concluded 
that  there  was  just  the  place  for  them  to  set  up  busi- 
ness. Emigrants  were  drawn,  not  only  from  other 
states  as  far  away  as  Pennsylvania  and  Colorado,  but 
even  from  Europe.  In  France  and  Belgium,  miners 
were  assured  that  a  home,  steady  employment  and 
good  wages  awaited  them  in  Spring  Valley.     So  sue- 


TENDENCY   OF   CAPITAL.  227 

cessful  were  all  these  steps  that  a  population  of,  at 
least,  five  thousand  people  were  gathered  in  about 
three  years.  Every  thing  was  going  on  swimingly. 
The  Town  Site  Company  had  made  an  enormous 
profit  out  of  their  investment.  It  is  true,  the  miners 
had  not  been  able  to  make  any  extra  wages.  Still 
they  were  hopeful.  Other  miners  were  still  being 
urged  to  come,  and  it  seemed  reasonable  that  better 
times  were  ahead. 

-  So  much  for  "  booming"  legitimate  business  and 
all  that  sort  of  thing.  But  capital  has  more  than  one 
way  to  make  profit,  and  so  having  got  its  population 
together  capital  proceeded  to  put  in  execution  a 
scheme  with  "  millions  in  it."  True,,  it  entailed  a  vast 
amount  of  suffering,  but  what  did  capital  care  for  that  ? 
Let  us  see  what  that  plan  was.  The  output  of  the 
mines  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  one  million  tons  a 
year.  Now  suppose  that  wages  be  forced  down  only 
ten  cents  a  ton,  that  meant  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  a  year  saving.  Now  suppose  that  in  addition 
to  above,  a  good  deal  of  expense  necessarily  con- 
nected with  mining,  technically  known  as  "brushing," 
for  which  the  company  then  paid,  could  be  shifted 
onto  the  men,  here  would  be  another  saving.  Then 
there  was  still  another  consideration  worth  talking 
about.  If  the  miners  union  could  only  be  broken  up, 
the  miners  be  made  to  sign  contracts  by  which  they 
became,  in  reality,  slaves  to  the  company,  in  virtue  of 
which  every  advantage  would  be  given  to  capital  in 


228  TENDENCY  OF   CAPITAL. 

case  the  miners,  for  any  reason,  quit  work — if  such 
arrangement  could  be  done,  why  of  course  the  men — 
their  slaves  for  the  time  being — would  be  rendered 
tractable.  All  these  advantages  capital  desired  to 
gain.  Accordingly,  arrangements  were  made  to  secure 
them.  We  must  remember  that  no  strike  was  whis- 
pered about  among  the  men,  and  the  owners  were 
paying  no  more  wages  than  were  being  in  the  neigh- 
boring towns  of  LaSalle,  Streator  or  Braidwood ;  in- 
deed not  quite  so  good  in  some  respects. 

Without  a  word  of  warning  two  of  the  mines 
were  closed  in  December,  1888,  throwing  seven  hun- 
dred men  out  of  employment.  What  this  throwing 
out  of  employment  means  is  hard  to  realize  by  the 
comfortably  off.  We  must  understand  that  on  the 
average  the  men  had  been  able  to  earn  a  fraction  less 
than  thirty-two  dollars  per  month.  It  probably  needs 
no  demonstration  that  with  that  amount  of  wages 
they  had  no  extra  resources  at  command  to  support 
themselves  during  the  winter  just  coming  on.  The 
miners  who  remained  at  work,  about  fourteen  hun- 
dred, divided  up  the  work  with  their  less  fortunate 
comrades.  By  this  means  the  miners  managed  to 
get  through  the  winter  someway.  But  in  April,  with- 
out further  warning,  all  the  mines  were  suddenly 
closed.  What  did  capital  that  was  engineering  these 
operations  care  if  two  thousand  miners  with  families 
on  their  hands,  with  absolutely  nothing  ahead,  in  debt 
for  their  little  homes,  were  suddenly  left  with  nothing? 


TENDENCY  OF   CAPITAL.  229 

What  did  it  care  if  the  business  of  the  small  traders 
who  had  settled  down  was  ruined?  It  knew  what  it 
wanted.  It  was  a  splendid  exhibition  of  what  legit- 
imate business  notions  mean  if  capital  is  allowed  to 
do  as  it  pleases. 

It  was  about  five  months  before  the  company- 
deigned  to  make  any  offer  to  its  miners.  The  offer 
amounted  to  less  than  half  the  wages  they  had  been 
paying,  less  than  half  what  was  being  paid  in  neigh- 
boring mines.  This  offer  could  not  possibly  be  ac- 
cepted by  the  men.  The  company  did  not  suppose 
it  would  be  accepted.  Four  weeks  later  a  proposi- 
tion was  made  embodying  all  the  points  which  we 
mentioned  as  desirable  points  to  be  gained.  About 
ten  cents  a  ton  was  to  be  saved  in  mining,  extra 
work  which  had  hitherto  been  paid  for  by  the  com- 
pany was  now  done  by  the  miners,  The  miners' 
union  was  completely  broken  up.  The  miners  had 
to  make  individual  contracts.  Every  advantage  was 
given  by  these  contracts  into  the  hands  of  the  mine 
owners.  The  men  became  literally  slaves.  It  is  sheer 
mockery  to  speak  of  free  contracts.  The  men  were 
as  truly  coerced  into  signing  these  contracts  as  the 
slaves  of  ante-bellum  days  were  coerced  in  their 
work. 

Starvation,  sickness  and  death  drove  these  men 
to  it.  Consider,  there  had  been  eleven  months  of 
partial  shut  down,  six  months  of  complete  shut  down. 
What  could  the  men  do?     Within  a  month   nearly 


230  TENDENCY  OF   CAPITAL. 

two-thirds  of  the  men  had  scattered  out  in  search  of 
work  elsewhere.  Many  disappointments  awaited 
these  poor  fellows.  When  they  got  to  a  place  where 
work  was  reported  they  often  found  they  were  de- 
ceived. Nothing  to  do  but  to  go  somewhere  else. 
Yet  they  sent  off  the  pittance  they  could  earn  to  their 
families  left  to  face  the  horrors  of  hunger  and  sick- 
ness at  home.  The  wife  of  a  merchant  in  Spring 
Valley,  who  was  doing  all  she  could  out  of  the  wreck 
of  her  husband's  business  to  help  the  still  more  un- 
fortunate families  around  her,  was  asked  how  she 
could  tell  a  family  was  in  want.  Listen  to  her  reply, 
"When  the  neighbors  see  the  little  children  of  a  fam- 
ily hanging  about  the  door  crying  silently  hour  by 
hour,  they  know  well  enough  what  is  the  matter. 
There's  never  a  bite  in  that  house,  you  may  be  sure." 
"Little  children  crying  silently  hour  by  hour."  What 
a  pathetic  spectacle!  But  we  forget  capital  was  doing 
a  magnificent  stroke  of  business.      .    . 

Father  Huntington,  of  the  order  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  who  has  devoted  his  life  to  the  poor  of  New 
York,  visited  Spring  Valley  and  was  greatly  moved 
by  what  he  saw.  He  says  :  "  The  poverty  stricken 
inhabitants  are  not  like  the  poor  I  am  used  to  seeing 
in  New  York.  There  is  no  whining  ;  the  people  show 
intelligence  and  pride;  even  hunger  has  not  debased 
their  feelings  as  one  might  expect.  I  am  used  to 
scenes  of  want,  but  what  I  saw  at  Spring  Valley  was 
different.     It  was   more  pitiful  than  anything  I  have 


TENDENCY  OF    CAPITAL.  231 

ever  witnessed  before."  Mr.  Lloyd  himself  writes 
from  Spring  Valley  in  September :  (<  In  this  great 
and  prosperous  State,  and  in  the  midst  of  harvest 
laden  farms  and  rich  cities,  the  visitor  will  see  a  cem- 
etery of  the  living.  Instead  of  the  light  of  health 
there  shines  in  the  eyes  of  the  men  and  women  the 
phosphorescence  of  decaying  strength,  and  the  chil- 
dren fatally  weakened  by  want  are  dying.  .... 
One  of  the  teachers  in  the  public  school  stated  that 
on  her  way  to  school  in  the  morning  she  would  some- 
times meet  as  many  as  a  dozen  of  her  class  out  with 
baskets  going  to  beg.  As  they  saw  her  the  little 
things,  ashamed,  would  try  to  hide  from  sight  until 
she  had  passed Numbers  of  the  chil- 
dren were  insufficiently  clothed,  little  boys  and  girls 
of  the  tenderest  years  having  on  only  some  light 
sack  or  jacket,  with   no   underclothing,     It  was   cold 

bleak  day,  but  many  were  bare-footed 

Most  of  these  sufferers  are  children,  and  most  of  the 
children  are  little  ones."  Even  of  "  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven."  Poor  starving  children,  this 
was  only  an  object  lesson  of  "  brisk  business  methods." 
It  was  by  such  means  as  this  that  capital  triumphed 
at  Spring  Valley. 

This  explains  what  we  mean  when  we  say  that 
capital  not  content  with  the  advantage  which  our  sys- 
tem itself  places  in  its  hands,  has  learned,  and  espe- 
cially of  late  years,  how  to  amass  new  conditions. 
Need  we  doubt  that  other  branches  of  production  will 


232  TENDENCY    OF  CAPITAL. 

learn  this  lesson?  No  one  probably  entertained  a 
suspicion  that  the  village  community  would  end  in 
villanage.  So  no  one  probably  ever  dreamed  that 
capital  to  achieve  its  end  would  override  the  rights, 
the  very  lives  of  the  people.  And  if  they  know  how 
to  do  it  in  one  department  of  labor  will  it  not  find  a 
way  to  do  it  in  all?  On  this  point  Mr.  Lloyd  con- 
tinues, and  his  words  are  a  solemn  warning"  to  all: 
"  The  story  of  Spring  Valley  needs  but  a  change  of 
names  and  a  few  details,  to  be  the  story  of  Braid- 
wood,  111.,  where  babies  and  men  and  women  wither 
away  to  be  transmigrated  into  the  dividends  of  a  mil- 
lionaire coal-miner  of  Beacon  street,  Boston.  It  needs 
but  a  few  changes  to  be  the  story  of  Punxsutawney — 
where  starving  foreigners  have  eaten  up  all  the  dogs 
in  the  country  to  keeps  themselves  loyally  alive  to 
to  dig  coal  again  when  their  master  re-opens  the  coal 
kennels ;  and  of  Scranton  and  the  Lehigh  Valley, 
where  the  hard,  very  hard,  coal  barons  of  Pennsyl- 
vania manufacture  artificial  winter  for  twelve  months 
of  every  year.  It  needs  but  a  few  changes  to  be  the 
story  of  Brazil,  Ind.,  where  the  Brazil  Block  Coal 
Company  locked  out  their  thousands  of  miners  last 
year  even  until  their  wives  and  children  grew  trans- 
parent enough  to  be  glasses  through  which  the  miners 
could  read,  though  darkly,  the  terms  of  surrender 
which  they  had  to  accept.  It  needs  but  a  few  changes 
to  be  the  story  of  the  Hocking  Valley,  where  Pinker- 
ton  gunpowder  was  burned  to  give  the  light  by  which 


TEKDEXCY    OF    CAPITAL.  233 

labor  could  read  "  the  free  contract  "  its  brother  Capi- 
tal wanted  it  to  sign — or  the  story  of  the  Reading 
Collieries,  where,  as  stated  in  the  report  of  the  Con- 
gressional Committee  of  1 887-1 888,  the  employer 
provoked  the  miners  to  riot,  and  then  shot  the  rioters 
"legally. ''  The  story  of  Spring  Valley  needs  not 
many  changes  to  be  a  picture  of  what  all  x^merican 
industry  will  come  to  be  if  the  power  of  capital  de- 
velops at  its  present  rate  up  to  the  end  of  the  nine- 
teenth century." 

Let  no  one  suppose  that  in  such  a  fight  as  this 
only  a  few  thousand  miners  on  one  side  and  a  few 
capitalists  on  the  other,  are  concerned.  The  story  has 
been  told  only  as  a  typical  one.  Only  to  call  atten- 
tion to  certain  methods  employed  by  capital.  It  was 
long  ago  said  of  the  United  States  that  a  nation  could 
not  live  half  slave  and  half  free.  With  still  more  as- 
surance may  we  repeat  that  civilization  can  not  live 
where  only  a  portion  of  the  people  are  prosperous,  or 
rather  have  it  in  their  power  to  make  prosperous  or 
adverse  circumstances  for  other  people.  We  are  all 
most  vitally  concerned  in  this  matter.  The  moderate 
man  of  business,  the  agriculturalist,  the  laborer — all 
are  in  danger  from  the  system  under  which  we  live. 
It  is  no  time  for  hysterical  outbreaks,  is  no  time  for 
penny-wise  and  pound-foolish  actions,  certainly  no 
time  for  petty  class  legislation.  The  time  for  action 
is  rapidly  approaching.  May  wisdom  guide  our 
counsels  and  firmness  execute  our  resolves. 


234  INTENSITY   OF   LABOR. 


C*t#PTEK  V11L 

INTENSITY  OF  LABOR. 

The  Second  Principle  on  which  Capital  Depends  — The 
Length  of  the  Working  Day  — Freedom  of  Labor — Capital  Desires 
to  make  the  Working  Day  Long — History  of  the  Subject — Extracts 
from  Karl  Marx — Legislation  in  the  United  States  on  this  Subject 
— Piece  Work — Evils  of  this  System — The  Sweating  System — How 
the  Poorer  Classes  are  compelled  to  Live — Some  of  the  Tenement 
Houses  of  New  York — Workings  of  the  System  in  our  Large  Cities 
— The  Moral  to  be  drawn — Conclusion. 

|»  HAVE  as  yet  considered  only  one 
of  the  two  principles  which  capi- 
tal must  take  into  consideration 
in  creating  surplus  value,  that  is 
the  necessity  of  getting  labor  as  cheap  as 
possible.  We  have  discussed  what  conse- 
quence flow  from  thence.  Not  only  are  the  natural 
advantages  all  in  the  hands  of  capital,  but  capital  has 
discovered  how  to  create  new  advantages.  Now  the 
second  principle  remains  to  be  considered.  That  is, 
labor  must  be  made  as  productive  as  possible,  the 
laborer's  work  must  be  made  to  yield  as  great  a  return 
as  possible.  On  further  consideration  this  is  seen  to 
be  but  a  branch  of  the  first  principle.  If  you  can 
manage  to  make  one  laborer  do  the  work  of  two, 
while  paying  him  only  the  wages  of  one,  you  certainly 


THE   OLD   WAY. 


INTENSITY   OF    LABOR.  237 

have  effected  a  wonderful  reduction  of  wages.     But 
let  us  consider  it  entirely  separate  from  the  other  prin- 
ciple.    Here,  too,   we    shall    discover   the   source   of 
endless  woe.     Here,  too,  we  shall  find  a  most  potent 
instrument  of  oppression  which  results  in  degrading 
man.     And  as  one  class  can  not  suffer  in  this  degra- 
dation without  all  suffering,  we  shall  see  how  necessary 
it  is  to  take  from  capital  its  power  to  thus  exploit  labor. 
The  first  aspect  of  the  case  concerns  the  length 
of  the  working  day.     If  we  will  recall  in  the  days  of 
serfdom,  the  villan  was  expected  to  work  one  or  more 
days  a  week  for  the  lord,  besides  extra  work  at  various 
seasons  of  the  year.    Here  there  was  no  disguise.    He 
had  to  pay  his  lord  this  service  for  which  he  received 
nothing.     Wherein,  now,  was  this  changed  when  capi- 
tal came  into  power  and  wages  were  paid  for  work  ? 
Nominally,  the  change  appears  to  be  very  great.    Now 
he  is  his  own  master.     But  the  truth  is  far  from  this. 
He  is,  of  course,  freed  from  many  vexations  incidents 
of  villanage.     He   is   indeed   not  tied   to   a   piece  of 
ground,  he  does  not  have  to  ask  his  master's  permis- 
sion for  his  son  or  daughter  to  get  married ;  or,  if  he 
should  happen  to  have  a  horse,  ox  or  other  animal  to 
sell,  he  is  at  liberty  to  do  so.      But  in  reality,  having 
no  means  of  production  of  his  own,  he  is  under  the 
greatest  of  pressure  to  sell  his  labor,  and  sometimes, 
at  least,  the  terms  he  is  compelled  to  accept,  quite  ir- 
respective of  the  question  of  wages,  are  such  as  no 
free  man  ought  to  be  asked  to  accept.     And  yet  they 


238  INTENSITY   OF    LABOR. 

are  powerlsss  to.  resist.  They  must  give  up  the  right 
of  organization  ;  they  must  take  no  united  action  to 
better  their  condition.  In  how  many  cases  do  we  not 
know  that  workmen  have  been  compelled  of  late  years 
to  sign  iron-clad  agreements  not  to  belong  to  any 
labor  organization  ?  We  all  know  such  instances. 
Why  does  capital  object  ?  The  reasons  generally 
given  are  transparently  flimsy.  The  real  reason  is,  as 
has  been  shown  in  the  most  thorough  manner  by 
labor  statistics  in  Ohio,  that  "the  trades  best  organ- 
ized receive  the  most  compensation  for  their  labor, 
live  better,  save  the  most  money  and  provide  more 
comfort  and  conveniences  for  their  families  than  those 
trades  whose  organization  are  too  imperfect  for  the 
protection  of  its  members."  When  men  are  compelled 
to  sign  away  such  rights  as  this,  what  becomes  of  their 
freedom  ? 

And  how  about  not  bestowing  his  labor  for  noth- 
ing ?  In  the  days  of  serfage,  such  toil  could  be  easily 
estimated,  it  amounted  to  a  certain  number  of  days 
toil  in  the  year.  But  have  we  not  shown  that  taking 
the  United  States  as  a  whole,  the  laborer  creats  the 
value  of  his  labor  in  about  one-half  the  time  he  is  at 
work  ?  Does  he  not  then  really  work  the  other 
half,  for  his  employer's  profit  alone  ?  Now,  of  course, 
we  do  not  mean  to  say  that  this  is  all  clear  profit  to 
the  employer  or  to  capital,  but  it  certainly  does  show 
that  there  is  not  such  a  difference  as  we  might  sup- 
pose between  wages  and  serfage.     The  villan  or  serf 


INTENSITY   OF   LABOR.  239 

worked  his  lord's  land,  say  two  days  a  week.  Here 
it  was  open  and  above  board,  he  worked  two  days  for 
nothing.  If  the  average  factory  workman  replaces  in 
the  first  half  of  the  day  the  value  of  the  wages  paid 
him,  he  certainly  works  the  last  half  of  the  day  for 
nothing.  During  the  week  then  he  works  three  days 
for  nothing.  We  no  longer  call  it  villanage.  But  "a 
rose  by  any  other  name  will  smell  as  sweet."  And 
by  what  we  have  already  set  forth,  if  labor  in  general 
works  for  capital  about  one-half  the  time  for  nothing 
then  agricultural  labor  does  also.  The  farmer  may 
think  he  is  working  for  himself  alone  "free"  and  "in- 
dependent."    It  is  a  case  of  mistaken  identity. 

This  introduces  us  to  the  length  of  the  working 
day.  In  general  terms  it  needs  no  diagram  to  show 
that  the  longer  the  working  day  may  be  made  the 
greater  the  amount  of  time  the  laborer  will  work  for 
capital  for  nothing.  We  have  already  called  attention 
to  the  fact  that  the  first  legislation  between  labor  and 
capital  was  to  compel  labor  to  accept  reasonable 
wages.  This  statute  being  called  forth  by  the  scarcity 
of  laborers,  caused  by  the  plague  in  England.  But 
we  think  there  was  another  reason  as  well.  Capital 
at  that  time  was  young,  it  had  not  as  yet  shown  its 
power.  Labor  did  not  as  yet  recognize  its  master, 
and  knew  no  good  reason  why  it  should  make  of  life 
one  dreary  round  of  labor.  At  any  rate,  the  first 
statutes  on  the  subject  were  enacted  to  lengthen  the 
working  day.     From  the  fourteenth  to  the  middle  of 

15 


240  INTENSITY   OF   LABOR. 

the  seventeenth  centuries  ten  hours  a  day  was  all  that 
the  law  tried  to  make  the  legal  day.  This  was  the 
legal  day  for  artisans,  agricultural  laborers  and  black- 
smiths. And  it  seems  that  even  then  they  refused  to 
work  all  of  the  week,  they  insisted  on  time  for  recre- 
ation and  holidays.  Some  writers  of  the  last  quar- 
ter of  the  eighteenth  century  thought  it  would  be 
wise  to  punish  the  paupers  by  shutting  them  up  in 
work-houses  and  compelling  them  to  work  twelve 
hours  a  day. 

And  yet  so  rapidly  did  capital  increase  its  power 
that  in  but  a  few  years  after  this  the  normal  working 
day  for  all  became  twelve  hours.  This  was  consid- 
ered the  natural  limit  of  a  day's  work.  But  with  the 
general  introduction  of  machinery  even  this  restraint 
way  broken  down.  Thirteen,  fourteen,  fifteen  and 
even  more  hours  a  day  came  to  be  the  rule.  The 
evil  grew  to  such  an  alarming  proportion  that  Great 
Britain  was  simply  forced  against  the  clamorous  ob- 
jection of  employers  to  commence  legislation  against 
long  hours.  The  employment  of  children  during 
these  excessive  long  hours  was  the  crying  evil  of  the 
age.  No  less  than  five  acts  were  passed  from  1802 
to  1832  to  restrict  the  hours  of  labor.  The  act  of 
1833  prohibited  the  employment  of  young  persons, 
that  is  from  thirteen  to  eighteen  years  old,  for  more 
than  twelve  hours  a  day,  and  of  other  persons  for 
more  than  fifteen  hours  a  day.  Quite  different  this, 
from  the   legislation  which  tried  to  make  full  grown 


INTENSITY  OF    LABOR.  241 

laborers  work  ten  hours  a  day.  Nothing  displays 
more  forcibly  the  heartlessness  of  capital  than  the 
necessity  of  laws  to  prevent  them  from  working  men 
more  than  fifteen  hours  a  day. 

It  is  interesting  to  read  Karl  Marx's  account  of 
this  phase  of  the  struggle  between  capital  and  labor, 
and  of  the  many  ingenius  ways  in  which  capital  cir- 
cumvented the  law.  It  was  not  until  1848  that  the 
limit  was  reduced  in  a  number  of  trades,  to  ten  hours. 
And  several  times  since  then,  legislation  has  been 
compelled  to  interfere  to  protect  labor  from  the  power 
of  capital  ;  and  especially  to  protect  little  children. 
It  seems  singular  that  this  step  was  necessary.  And 
yet  is  it  any  more  strange  that  capital  should  utterly 
disregard  the  welfare  of  the  laborer,  or  of  children, 
that  it  should  take  such  steps  as  those  indicated  at 
Spring  Valley?  Not  all  trades  were  regulated  by  the 
factory  acts  of  1848.  To  show  to  what  steps  labor 
and  especially  children's  labor  may  be  exploited  pro- 
vided legislation  does  not  interfere,  we  will  give  a  few 
extracts  showing  the  condition  of  work  as  it  was  but 
a  few  years  ago.  And  in  reading  this  account  we 
must  not  forget  that  it  is  the  fault  of  the  system  more 
than  of  individuals.  Capital  takes  advantage  of  the 
necessities  of  labor  just  as  we  take  advantage  of  the 
necessity  of  the  merchant  who  calls  in  the  auctioneer. 
We  might  as  well  think  that  water  will  not  run  down 
hill  as  to  think  that  as  long  as  human  nature  is  what 
it  is  capital  will  strive  to  get  a  good  bargain. 


242  INTENSITY    OF  LABOR. 

The  lace  trade  was  one  of  the  trades  left  un- 
touched by  the  legislation  of  1848.  Marx  quotes 
from  a  London  paper  of  i860  an  account  of  a  meet- 
ing in  the  interest  of  that  trade.  One  speaker  de^ 
clared  "  That  there  was  an  amount  of  privation  and 
suffering  among  that  portion  of  the  population  con- 
nected with  the   lace  trade  unknown  in  other  parts  of 

the  kingdom,  indeed  in  the  civilized  world 

Children  of  nine  or  ten  years  are  dragged  from  their 
squalid  beds  at  two,  three  or  four  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing  and  compelled  to  work  for  a  bare  subsistence 
until  ten,  eleven  or  twelve  at  night ;  their  limbs  wear^ 
ing  away,  their  frames  dwindling,  their  faces  whiten- 
ing, and  their  humanity  absolutely  sinking  into  a 
stone-like  torpor,  utterly  horrible  to  contemplate, 
....  The  system  as  described  is  one  of  unmitigated 
slavery,  socially,  morally  and  spiritually. 

The  potters'  trade  was  another  trade  left  unregu- 
lated, the  "children's  employment  commission"  for 
1863  preserved  the  testimony  of  some  of  the  chil- 
dren employed  in  such  works.  From  this  we  can 
judge  what  the  adults  must  have  worked.  One  boy 
of  seven  testified  that  he  worked  from  six  in  the 
morning  until  nine  at  night;  another,  a  boy  of  twelve, 
testified  as  follows :"  I  come  at  six.  Sometimes  I 
come  at  four.  I  worked  all  night  last  night  till  six 
o'clock  this  morning.  I  have  not  been  in  bed  since 
night  before  last-"  No  wonder  that  when  the  doc- 
tors were  asked  as  to  the  effect  produced  they  should 


INTENSITY   OF    LABOR.  243 

say,  "Each   generation  of  potters    is   more   dwarfed 

and  less  robust  than  the  preceding  one The 

potters  as  a  class,  both  men  and  women,  represent  a 
degenerated  population,  both  physically  and  morally. 
They  are,  as  a  rule,  stunted  in  growth,  ill-shaped  and 
frequently  ill-formed  in  the  chest ;  they  become  pre- 
maturely old,  and  are  certainly  short  lived." 

These  accounts  could  of  course  be  extended  to 
any  length.  And  even  in  trades  regulated  by  law, 
there  was  so  much  ingenuity  shown  by  various  man- 
ufacturers in  devising  means  to  circumvent  the  law 
that  before  the  factory  legislation  of  1867  men  and 
children  were  worked  far  beyond  the  proper  limit  for 
health.  It  is  a  most  striking  commentary  on  the  in- 
siduous  power  of  capital,  to  find  that  even  now,  it  is 
only  by  the  aid  of  legislation  that  we  can  prevent  cap- 
ital from  working  the  laborer  more  hours  than  a  little 
more  than  a  century  ago  capital  by  the  aid  of  law  was 
trying  to  force  on  laborers.  Then  capital  was  trying 
to  force  labor  to  work  ten  hours  a  day,  now  legisla- 
tion has  to  interfere  to  prevent  capital  from  exacting 
twelve,  fourteen  or  fifteen  hours  a  day.  Quite  an  in- 
structive transformation  scene  this,  and  yet  the  devel- 
opment of  the  power  of  capital  was  quite  in  accord- 
ance with  the  general  principles  of  the  case.  It  was 
unforeseen  truly,  quite  as  much  so  as  it  was  unfore- 
seen that  the  agricultural  community  would  sink  into 
villanage,  quite  as  much  as  it  was  then  unforeseen 
that  capital  would  ever  make  use  of  such   means  as 


244  INTENSITY   OF    LABOR. 

those  employed  at  Spring  Valley  to  accomplish  its 
ends.  The  general  principles  of  factory  legislation 
of  Great  Britain  have  been  adopted  by  the  several 
States  of  this  Union.  Though  there  is  considerable 
diversity,  most  of  the  States  prohibit  child  labor 
under  a  certain  age,  generally  from  twelve  to  fourteen. 
Above  that  period  they  may  be  employed,  but,  in  a 
number  of  States  at  least,  there  are  restrictions  for  a 
year  or  so  longer.  Such  as  that  they  can  not  be  em- 
ployed while  public  schools  are  in  session,  they  must 
be  able  .to  read  and  write,  they  must  attend  school  a 
certain  number  of  weeks.  Then,  in  most  States  they 
are  forbidden  to  work  more  than  ten  hours  a  day 
under  eighteen  years  of  age.  This  same  restriction 
is  generally  thrown  around  women,  and  they  are  in 
addition  absolutely  forbidden  to  be  employed  in  cer- 
tain kinds  of  work,  as  mining.  In  some  States  eight 
hours  is  made  a  legal  day's  work,  in  nearly  all,  how- 
ever, it  is  ten  hours,  and  almost  without  exception 
longer  hours  can  be  arranged  by  special  contract. 
And,  in  examining  the  various  reports  on  the  number 
of  hours  employed  in  various  manufactures,  we  are 
struck  with  the  fact  that  large  and  very  important 
branches  still  work  their  men  eleven  and  twelve  hours 
a  day.  In  the  manufacture  of  pig-iron,  for  instance, 
the  hours  are  almost  always  twelve.  Other  branches 
of  the  iron  work  generally  ten.  In  the  manufacture 
of  cotton  and  woolen  goods  the  hours  are  nearly 
always  eleven,  excepting  in  the   State  of  Massachu- 


INTENSITY    OF   LABOR.  245 

setts.  Flour  and  the  preparation  of  food,  in  the  ma- 
jority of  cases,  twelve  hours.  Lumbering,  eleven 
hours.  Manufacture  of  carpets,  eleven  hours.  On 
reflection  we  will  notice  that  these  branches,  while 
very  important  indeed,  yet  require  relatively  a  lower 
grade  of  labor  than  others  Compare,  for  instance, 
pig-iron  making  with  steel,  or  the  making  of  steel 
rails. 

In  general  terms,  however,  the  limit  in  this  coun- 
try, as  in  Great  Britain,  is  placed  at  ten  hours.  But 
is  this  the  right  limit?  Every  one  knows  that  we  have 
had  for  some  years  an  agitation  in  favor  of  eight 
hours  in  this  country ;  and  that  is  one  of  the  demands 
which  labor  makes  now.  We  have  watched  the  swing 
of  the  pendulum  one  way,  have  seen  how  capital  has 
increased  the  hours  of  labor  to  suit  itself,  and  the 
only  question  is  how  far  shall  we  now  go  the  other 
way?  We  entertain  little  doubt  that  the  eight  hour 
movement  is  coming,  and  surely  no  one  who  regards 
the  laborer  as  a  human  being  and  not  as  a  machine, 
can  regret  it.  He  needs  time  for  education,  for  in- 
tellectual development,  for  the  fulfilling  of  social  func- 
tions and  for  social  intercourse,  for  the  free  play  of 
bodily  and  mental  activity.  All  these  are  certainly 
necessary.  And  even  when  this  stage  is  reached, 
labor  will  not  have  done  more  than  reached  the 
vantage  ground  from  which  it  started  in  its  conflict 
with  capital. 

But  there  are  more  ways  than  one  of  achieving 


246  INTENSITY   OF   LABOR. 

a  desired  end.  Indirect  means  will  often  succeed 
where  direct  ones  fail.  Capital,  bent  on  getting  all 
that  it  can  out  of  labor,  has  of  course  considered 
every  phase  of  the  problem.  Now  it  so  happens 
that  a  method  can  be  adopted  in  a  number  of  employ- 
ments which  apparently  seems  fair  and  above  board, 
but  in  effect  it  opens  the  door  to  very  great  abuse. 
That  is  paying  by  the  piece.  Certainly  this  seems  to 
be  a  fair  way  of  doing.  It  is  after  all  nothing  but  the 
old  way  of  reckoning  wages,  and  it  appears  to  throw 
the  evil  of  overwork  on  the  workman.  Their  remu- 
neration at  best  is  very  small,  they  can  hardly  resist 
the  temptation  of  working  a  little  longer  so  as  to  get 
a  little  more  pay,  and  so  the  process  goes  on,  and  in 
certain  employments  we  find  an  appalling  amount  of 
overwork. 

Suppose  the  custom  would  spring  up  of  buying 
cotton  cloth  by  the  pound.  How  long  would  it  take 
our  merchants  to  know  just  how  many  yards  of  a 
certain  width  it  took  to  make  one  pound?  Does  any 
one  suppose  we  would  get  cloth  any  cheaper?  It  is 
just  so  in  paying  by  the  piece.  Whether  a  laborer 
receives  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  a  day  for  ten  hours' 
labor,  or  a  shilling  a  piece  for  ten  pieces,  which  ex- 
perience shows  he  can  turn  out  in  one  day,  what  dif- 
ference does  it  make?  Its  ill  effects  are  neutralized, 
if,  for  instance,  the  work  is  done  in  a  factory,  where 
the  machinery  is  only  run  a  certain  number  of  hours 
a  day,  or  in  a  coal  mine,  where  the  miner  is  paid  so 


INTENSITY    OF   LABOR.  247 

much  a  ton,  but  the  hours  of  labor  is  specified.  And 
even  in  such  cases,  the  tendency  is  to  make  the  men 
over-exert  themselves.  Let  us  illustrate  that  point. 
We  must  start  from  the  well  ascertained  ground  that 
all  the  laborer  is  going  to  receive  is  a  living  any  way. 
Suppose  molders  wages  are  two  dollars  a  day.  Two 
men  may  be  working  side  by  side,  both  able  to  earn 
these  wages.  Now  if  payment  by  the  piece  be  intro- 
duced it  may  be  that  one  man  will  be  able  to  finish 
more  articles  than  the  other  ;  but,  in  effect,  instead 
of  his  getting  the  benefit  of  this,  the  other's  wages 
will  fall,  or  he  will  have  to  really  over-exert  himself. 

This  is  not  altogether  a  hypothetical  case.  The 
ninth  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  for 
Ohio  comments  on  the  fact  that  molders  in  Ohio  live 
on  an  average  about  eleven  years  shorter  lives  than 
molders  in  Great  Britain.  And  found  the  probable 
cause  to  be  in  piece  work.  If  the  proposition  were 
made  to  reduce  say  twenty  per  cent  in  one  day,  the 
men  would  probably  not  listen  to  it.  But  some  way 
it  sounds  different  for  the  manufacturer  to  explain  that 
he  can  not  pay  so  much  per  piece  by  about  twenty  per 
cent.  The  workmen  pitch  in  and  work  all  the  harder 
to  get  their  pittance.  In  some  cases  they  actually 
tried  to  do  two  days'  work  in  one.  The  commissioner 
recommends  the  abolishment  of  piece  work  at  once 
as  the  means  of  brino-ino-  the  length  of  their  lives  to 
the  normal  length. 

But  the  greatest  evil  of  piece  work  only  comes 


248  INTENSITY    OF    LABOR. 

out  in  those  trades  in  which  the  work  can  be  done  at 
home.  Such  as  tailoring  and  cigar  making.  Here 
an  amount  of  evil  comes  to  view  on  the  slighest  in- 
spection that  is  absolutely  appalling.  This  introduces 
us  to  the  "  Sweating  System."  Every  one  knows 
what  is  meant  by  this  expression.  Its  victims  are  the 
wretchedly  poor  men  and  women,  who  make  various 
articles  of  wearing  apparel,  such  as  shirts,  vests,  over- 
alls, etc.  The  "  sweater  "  may  be  either  some  sub- 
contractor, as  is  generally  the  case,  who  procures  the 
work  done  for  large  wholesale  houses,  or  it  may  be 
some  highly  respectable  firm  itself,  who  conclude  to 
cover  into  their  treasury  all  the  profit  there  is  to  be 
made.  Sweating  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  cloth- 
ing trade,  nor  to  women.  Cigars  are  often  made  in 
tenement  house  factories.  The  inspectors  in  New 
York  City  reported  that  they  found  nothing  more 
dangerous  to  public  health,  family  virtue  and  common 
decency  than  the  huge  tenement  house  cigar  factory. 
One  quarter  in  New  York  properly  known  as  Jew- 
town  is  almost  entirely  given  up  to  the  cheap  clothing 
manufacturing.  There  the  system  may  be  seen  in  its 
perfection. 

If  we  will  only  reflect  that  sweating  is  concerned 
with  the  labor  of  the  wretchedly  poor  and  mainly  help- 
less, we  might  say  hopeless,  classes  of  women,  child- 
ren, ignorant  emigrants,  we  can  at  once  see  what 
fearful  advantages  are  taken  of  their  necessities.  They 
are  starving,  cold,  sick,  prices  are  put  down  to  the 


INTENSITY  OF    LABOR.  249 

very  lowest  point.  Where  only  by  the  most  pinching 
economy,  and  work  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  hours  a  day, 
only  afford  a  most  wretched  living,  under  most  de- 
basing circumstances.  Society  is  powerless  to  break 
up  the  evils  under  present  circumstances.  Given  the 
capitalist  system,  given  a  great  concentration  of  popu- 
lation, and  such  evils  will  as  inevitably  come  into  ex- 
istence as  night  follows  day.  And  what  monstrous 
evils  they  are.  To  a  whole  class  of  people  in  our 
large  cities  Hood's  lines  apply : 

"Work!     Work!     Work! 

My  labor  never  flags  ; 

And  what  are  its  wages  ?     A  bed  of  straw, 

A  crust  of  bread — and  rags. 

That  shattered  roof — and  this  naked  floor — 

A  table — a  broken  chair — 

And  a  wall  so  blank,  my  shadow  I  thank 

For  sometimes  falling  there  !  n 

So  few  people  really  know  how  the  other  half 
lives,  that  it  may  be  worth  while  to  take  a  glance  at  a 
typical  case.  A  visitor  reports  finding  "  in  a  room  ten 
feet  square,  low-ceiled,  and  lighted  by  but  one  win- 
dow, whose  panes  were  crusted  by  the  dirt  of  a  gene- 
ration, seven  women  sat  at  work.  Three  machines 
were  the  principal  furniture.  A  small  stove  burned 
fiercely,  the  close  smell  of  red-hot  iron,  hardly  domi- 
nating the  fouler  one  of  sinks  and  reeking  sewer-gas. 
Piles  of  cloaks  were  on  the  floor,  and  the  women 
white  and  wan,  with  cavernous  eyes  and  hands,  more 
akin  to  a  skeleton's  than  to  flesh  and  blood,  bent  over 
the  garments  .  .  .  An  inner  room,    a   mere    closet, 


250  INTENSITY    OF  LABOR. 

dark  and  even  fouler  than  the  outer  one,  held  the  bed  ; 
a  mattress,  black  with  age,  lying  on  the  floor.  Here 
such  rest  as  might  be  had  was  taken  when  the  sixteen 
hours  of  work  ended — sixteen  hours  of  toil  unrelieved 
by  one  gleam  of  hope  or  cheer ;  the  net  result  of  this 
accumulated  and  ever  accumulating  misery  being  three 
dollars  and  fifty  cents  a  week.  Two  women,  using 
their  utmost  diligence,  could  finish  one  cloak  per  day, 
receiving  from  -the  sweater,  through  whose  hands  all 
must  come,  fifty  cents  each  for  a  toil  unequaled  by 
any  form  of  labor  under  the  sun  .  .  .  They  are  pro- 
ducts of  nineteenth  century  civilization,  and  these 
seven  are  but  types,  hundreds  of  their  kind  confront- 
ing the  searcher,  who  looks  on  aghast,  and  who  as  the 
list  lengthens  and  case  after  case  gives  its  unutterably 
miserable  details,  turns  away  in  a  despair  only  matched 
by  that  of  the  worker." 

The  same  writer  has  an  account  that  is  a  wonder- 
fully impressive  comment  on  our  present  civilization, 
and  shows  in  a  most  striking  light  how  abject  misery 
may  exist  side  by  side  with  some  of  the  highest  results 
of  modern  culture.  The  great  East  River  bridge  is 
one  of  the  triumphs  of  modern  skill.  But  as  its 
mighty  arches  were  slowly  reared  they  shut  out  light 
and  sunshine  from  cheerless  tenement  houses  near. 
The  electric  light,  however,  another  product  of  modern 
times,  lighted  up  the  same  at  night.  In  this  case  what 
did  the  wretched  tenants  do?  "  The  day's  work  has 
ceased  to  be  the  day's  work,  and  the  women  who  can 


INTENSITY   OF    LABOR.  251 

not  afford  the  gas  or  oil  that  must  burn  if  they  work 
in  the  day  time,  sleep  while  day  lasts  and  when  night 
comes  and  the  electric  light  penetrates  every  corner 
of  the  shadowy  rooms,  turn  to  the  toil  by  which  their 
bread  is  won  .  .  ,  Natural  law,  natural  living  abolished 
once  for  all,  and  this  light  that  blinds  but  holds  no 
cheer  shining  upon  the  mass  of  weary  humanity  who 
have  forgotten  what  sunshine  may  mean  and  who 
know  no  joy  that  life  was  meant  to  hold." 

Jew-town,  New  York,  is  as  stated,  almost  wholly 
given  up  to  workers  on  cheap  clothes,  and  there 
sweaters  are  in  abundance.  It  must  be  said,  to  the 
credit  of  the  Jewish  population,  that  though  in  the 
greatest  poverty,  though  forced  to  inhuman  hours  of 
labor,  yet,  probably,  every  individual  worker  has 
hopes  of  becoming  a  sweater  himself,  and  carefully 
saves  every  penny  for  that  purpose.  The  constant 
arrival  of  persecuted  Hebrews  from  abroad,  and 
thousands  of  them  come  every  year,  supplies  the  vic- 
tims. We  can  have  but  little  idea  of  the  exertions 
put  forth,  or  of  the  privations  undergone  by  these  poor 
people  to  make  a  living.  The  terrible  competition 
and  the  system  makes  it  true  of  us,  slightly  changing 
the  words  of  the  poem,  that 

"  It  is  not  the  clothes  we  are  wearing  out 
But  human  creatures  lives." 

The  following  description  may  prove  of  interest 
to  us.  "  Take  the  Second  Avenue  Elevated  Railroad 
at  Chatham  Square  and  ride  up  half  a  mile  through 


252  INTENSITY    OF    LABOR. 

the  sweater's  district.  Every  open  window  of  the  big 
tenements,  that  stand  like  a  continuous  brick  wall  on 
both  sides  of  the  way,  gives  you  a  glimpse  of  one  of 
these  shops  as  the  train  speeds  by.  Men  and  women 
bending  over  their  machines,  or  ironing  clothes  at  the 
window,  half-naked.  Proprieties  do  not  count  on  the 
East  Side  ;  nothing  counts  that  cannot  be  converted 
into  hard  cash.  The  road  is  like  a  big  gangway 
through  an  endless  work  room  where  vast  multitudes 
are  forever  laboring.  Morning,  noon  or  night,  it 
makes  no  difference ;  the  scene  is  always  the  same. 
At  Rivington  Street,  let  us  get  off  and  continue  our 
trip  on  foot.  Men  stagger  along  the  sidewalk  groan- 
ing under  heavy  burdens  of  unsewn  garments,  or 
enormous  black  bags  stuffed  full  of  finished  coats  and 
trousers.  Let  us  follow  one  to  his  home.  Up  two 
flights  of  dark  stairs,  three,  four,  on  every  landing, 
whirring  sewing  machines  behind  closed  doors  betray- 
ing what  goes  on  within,  to  the  door  that  opens  to 
admit  the  bundle  and  the  man.  A  sweater,  this,  in  a 
small  way.  Five  men  and  a  woman,  two  young  girls, 
not  fifteen,  and  a  boy.  The  floor  is  littered  ankle-deep 
with  half-sewn  garments.  In  the  alcove,  on  a  couch 
of  many  dozens  of  "pants"  ready  for  the  finisher,  a 
bare-legged  baby  with  pinched  face  is  asleep.  A  fence 
of  piled  up  clothing  keeps  him  from  rolling  off  on  the 
floor.  The  faces,  hands  and  arms,  to  the  elbows,  of 
every  one  in  the  room  are  black  with  the  color  of  the 
cloth  on  which  they  are  working.     The  boy  and  the 


INTENSITY   OF    LABOR.  253 

woman  alone  look  up  at  our  entrance.  The  girls  shoot 
sidelong  glances,  but  at  a  warning  look  from  the  man 
with  the  bundle  they  tread  their  machines  more  ener- 
getically than  ever.  The  men  do  not  appear  to  be 
aware  even  of  the  presence  of  a  stranger." 

We  have  mentioned  the  tenement  house  cigar 
factories.  This  is  a  sort  of  variation  in  the  regular 
sweater  system.  Its  headquarters  are  in  the  Bohemian 
part  of  the  town.  But  little  machinery  is  required  in 
cigar  making.  Skill  comes  by  practice.  In  work  of 
this  character  the  owner  of  dilapidated  tenement 
houses  contrives  to  reap  double  profits,  one  as  land- 
lord and  one  as  employer.  The  necessities  of  the  Bo- 
hemians are  so  great  that  they  are  literally  reduced  to 
slavery  as  real  as  any  that  ever  disgraced  this  country. 
Only  on  the  very  hardest  of  terms  are  they  granted 
lodging  and  work.  Mr.  Riis  gives  us  an  idea  of  this 
*  method  of  work.  "  The  manufacturer  who  owns,  say, 
from  three  or  four  to  a  dozen  or  more  tenements  con- 
tiguous to  his  shop,  fills  them  up  with  these  people, 
charging  them  outrageous  rents  and  demanding  often 
even  a  preliminary  deposit  of  five  dollars  "key  money;" 
deals  them  out  tobacco  by  the  week,  and  devotes  the 
rest  of  his  energies  to  the  paring  down  of  wages  to 
within  a  peg  or  two  of  the  point  where  the  tenant 
rebels  in  desperation.  Men,  women  and  children 
work  together  seven  days  in  the  week  in  these  cheer- 
less tenements  to  make  a  living  for  the  family,  from 
the  break  of  day  till  far  into  the  night."  As  for  wages, 


254  INTENSITY    OF    LABOR. 

Mr.  Riis  gives  some  figures  in  another  instance  where 
better  prices  than  usual  were  obtained  for  their  work. 
A  man  could  make  six  cents  and  a  half  an  hour.  He 
and  his  wife  worked  seventeen  hours  and  a  half  a  day. 
Now  when  we  feel  indignant  to  think  such  a 
state  of  affairs  should  exist,  let  us  stop  and  ask  what 
it  is  that  we  especially  condemn.  Here  is  a  firm  sell- 
ing ready  made  clothing.  In  order  to  meet  competi- 
tion in  their  trade,  they  must  sell  as  cheaply  as  other 
stores.  They  can  not  pay  more  for  their  labor  than 
the  others.  It  iseasy  of  course  to  excoriate  employ- 
ers, but  there  is  no  more  reason  in  so  doing  than  there 
is  in  blaming  yourself.  Why  don't  you  head  a  good 
round  subscription  for  their  relief.  Those  who  em- 
ploy them  and  pay  the  wages  agreed  upon  are  no 
more  called  upon  to  pay  extra  wages  than  you  are  to 
take  up  a  collection  for  their  benefit.  Here  as  else- 
where the  proverb  as  to  people  living  in  glass  houses 
applies.  There  is  an  immense  amount,  of  miserably 
poor  people  applying  for  this  work.  If  our  present 
system  is  right  why  should  an  employer  offer  them 
higher  wages?  When  you  buy  groceries  or  clothing 
your  conscience  never  hurts  you  for  buying  of  the 
one  who  will  sell  the  cheapest.  Why  should  not  an 
employer  of  labor  have  the  same  privilege  and  buy 
the  commodity  in  which  he  deals  at  the  lowest  possi- 
ble figure?  In  all  our  large  cities  there  is  any  amount 
of  people  hungry  for  work  at  these  low  prices.  It 
would  be  fully  as  reasonable  to  expect  grocers  in  the 


INTENSITY    OF   LABOR.  255 

kindness  of  their  hearts  to  sell  them  sugar,  coffee  and 
other  articles  at  about  one-half  of  the  usual  rates, 
out  of  pity  for  their  condition,  as  to  expect  employers 
to  raise  wages  to  double  what  they  are  now. 

Once  again,  it  is  the  system  itself  that  is  at  fault. 
The  average  man  is  not  a  philanthropist,  everflowing 
with  kindness,  on  the  contrary  he  is  looking  out  for 
number  one,  We  must  deal  with  the  world  as  it  is, 
not  as  we  would  like  to  have  it.  It  must  be  evident 
that  if  any  system  places  the  means  of  production  in 
the  hands  of  one  set  of  men,  thereby  giving  them 
power  over  the  other  portion,  that  the  first  are  cer- 
tainly going  to  exercise  that  power.  Not  only  will 
they  take  all  advantages  thus  placed  in  their  hands, 
but  they  will  be  on  the  look  out  for  more.  What  is 
wanted  is  some  change  in  the  system.  Something 
that  will  take  labor  out  of  the  class  of  mere  commod- 
ities. How  we  are  to  do  this  may  not  as  yet  ap- 
pear, but  some  way  will  be  found.  To  fail  to  do  this 
is  to  condemn  our  present  civilization  to  a  final  defeat. 
As  it  is  now  wealth,  capital,  comes  up  before  us  as  the 
one  good  thing  to  be  striven  for.  All  the  better 
qualities  of  our  nature  tend  to  become  stunted.  This 
can  not  continue. 

Well  does  a  recent  writer  set  this  before  us  "  It 
would  seem  as  if  every  force  of  modern  civilization 
bent  towards  this  one  of  money-getting,  and  the  child 
of  days  and  the  old  man  of  years  alike  shared  the 
passion  and  ran  the  same  mad  race.    It  is  the  passion 

16 


256  INTENSITY   OF   LABOR. 

itself  that  has  outgrown  all  bounds  and  that  faces  us 
to-day — the  modern  Medusa  on  which  he  who  looks 
has  no  more  heart  of  flesh  and  blood,  but  forever 
heart  of  stone,  insensible  to  any  sorrow,  unmoved  by 
any  cry  of  child  or  woman.  It  is  with  this  shape  that 
the  battle  must  be,  and  no  man  has  yet  told  us  its 
issue.  Nay,  save  here  and  there  one,  who  counts 
that  battle  is  needed,  or  sees  the  shadow  of  the  ter- 
ror walking  not  only  in  darkness,  but  before  all  men's 
eyes,  who  is  there  that  has  not  chosen  blindness,  and 
will  not  hear  the  voice  that  pleads  :  "  Let  my  people 
go  free." 

Yes,  a  change  must  somehow  be  made.  Surely 
it  is  not  all  a  disordered  fancy  which  pictures  to  our- 
selves a  different  future.  When  the  boundless  wealth 
of  nature,  the  almost  limitless  ingenuity  of  man  will 
banish  much  of  ignorance,  poverty  and  crime.  When 
little  children  shall  not  go  ragged,  shivering  and 
starving  to  bed,  in  order  that  others  may  heap  wealth 
on  wealth.  A  time  must  come  when  the  means  of 
living  shall  be  so  easy  to  obtain  that  men  and  women 

need  not 

Work  !  work  !  work ! 

Till  the  brain  begins  tc  swim, 

Work  !  work  !  work  ! 

Till  the  eyes  are  heavy  and  dim, 

Work !   work  !  work ! 

From  weary  chime  to  chime, 

Work !   work  !  work  !  m    e>  * 

As  prisoners  work  for  crime. 


0 

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0 

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X 

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o 

0 

z 

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z 

3 

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w 

w 

E- 


AGE   OF   MACHINERY.  259 


CHAPTER  IX. 

AGE   OF   MACHINERY. 

Introduction — Genesis  of  a  machine — Definition  of  a  machine — 
Advantages  of  machines — Present  aspects  of  the  case— Capital  ren- 
dered more  productive  by  machines — Exchange  value  effected  by  ma- 
chinery— Prof.  Rogers'  opinion — Progress  of  the  last  century — The 
tendency  of  the  age — Disadvantages  of  machinery — The  displacement 
of  labor  by  machines — Machines  lower  the  standard  of  labor — Child 
labor — The  value  of  labor — Conclusion. 

jS*  CAN  define  man  asa"  tool-using 
animal."  There  is  more  in  this 
definition  than  we  are  apt  to 
think  when  we  first  consider  it. 
A  tool,  however,  is  not  something  which 
nature  has  fashioned  or  which  grows  of 
itself.  Man  not  only  uses  tools,  but  he  invents 
new  ones,  perfects  those  already  known,  and  unites 
them  in  a  machine.  One  invention  makes  way  for 
another,  and  so  from  the  humblest  beginning  have 
grown  the  wonderfully  complex  machines  of  to-day. 
In  a  certain  sense  to  know  the  steps  in  the  evolu- 
tion of  any  machine  is  to  have  a  good  idea  of  the 
course  of  civilization  in  general.  The  savage  takes 
a  stone  to  help  him  in  breaking  open  a  cocoanut. 
That  is  but  the  first  step  in  a  well-nigh  infinite 
series,  which  ends  in  the  steam  hammer  which  can 


26o  AGE   OF   MACHINERY. 

be  used  to  deliver  strokes  which  shiver  a  block  of 
granite'  to  powder  or  gently  break  an  egg,  as  we 
may  desire.  The  whole  history  of  man's  progress 
passes  between  those  extremes. 

In  discussing  the  definition  of  capital,  we 
found  that  while  of  a  truth  capital  was  as  old  as 
labor  itself,  yet  it  was  but  recently  that  it  exhibited - 
the  peculiar  characteristics  of  modern  capital.  So- 
ciety had  to  reach  a  peculiar  stage  of  development 
before  capital  became  what  it  is  to-day.  It  is  the 
same  thing  with  a  machine.  In  one  sense  of  the 
word,  machines  have  existed  about  as  long  as  man 
himself;  and  yet  again  what  we  nowadays  mean  by 
machines  and  machinery  is  a  modern  product.  It 
simply  amounts  to  this :  In  the  first  stage,  men  per- 
formed work  by  the  aid  of  machines.  In  the  sec- 
ond stage,  machines  do  work  with  the  aid  of  men. 
This  distinction  will  be  found  to  be  a  very  real  one. 
The  primitive  weaver  makes  improvement  in  the 
simple  machine  which  he  uses.  He  is  the  driving 
hand  with  it  all ;  his  machine  simply  helps  him.  In 
the  immense  factories  they  now  have  huge  automa- 
tons, with  self-acting  electric  stops,  which  stop  the 
machine  when  a  bobbin  is  empty  or  when  a  thread 
breaks.  One  hand  can  tend  to  several  looms. 
Here  is  machinery  doing  work  with  the  aid  of  men. 

The  genesis  of  a  machine  is  about  as  follows : 
Man  uses  some  simple  tool  to  help  him  perform  his 


AGE   OF   MACHINERY.  26l 

work.     He  saws  wood  with  a  saw,  knits  with  some 
needles,  or  spins  with  a  distaff.     He  has  but  two 
hands  to  work  with.     He  can  not  work  two  saws  at 
once,  with  any  precision  at  least ;  can  not  knit  with 
more  than  four  needles,  or  attend  to  more  than  one 
spinning    wheel.      The    primitive    machine    is    a 
mechanism    working    a   number   of  these   tools   at 
once ;  several  saws  are  united  in  a  gang-saw.     In 
the    first    spinning    jenny,    eight,    and    afterwards 
eighty  spindles,  were  revolved  by  one  wheel ;  and  a 
movable  frame,  representing  as   many  fingers  and 
thumbs  as  there  were  threads,  alternately  advanced 
and  receded  from  the  spindles,  imitating  mechanic- 
ally the  motions  of  hand  itself;  while  in  the  stock- 
ing frame  thousands  of  needles  are  made  to  knit  at 
once.     So  it  is  in  every  department  that  machinery 
has  invaded.     In  the  majority  of  cases  after  inven- 
tions are  so  perfected  that  we  can  trace  but  very 
slight  resemblance  to    the  primitive  tools,  as  in  the 
ring  and  throstle  spinning  machines  of  the  day,  we 
see  but  little  to  remind  us  of  the  spinning  wheel  of 
early  days.     In  all   cases  this  is  not  true.     "  The 
operating  part    of  the  boring   machine  is   an   im- 
mense drill  driven  by  a  steam  engine ;  the  mechan- 
ical lathe  is  only  a  cyclopean  reproduction  of  the 
ordinary  foot  lathe;  the  planing  machine,  an  iron 
capenter  that  works  on  iron   with   the  same  tools 
that  the  human  carpenter  employs  on  wood." 


262  AGE    OF   MACHINERY. 

A  machine,  then,  generally  is  a  number  of  tools 
arranged  in  a  frame  to  do  work  similar  in  kind  to 
what  the  individual  workman  did  previously.  Or 
it  may  be  in  all  its  essential  parts  the  simple  tool  or 
machine  of  the  individual  worker,  but  now  moved 
by  iron  and  steam,  and  consequently  operated  on  a 
cyclopean  scale,  just  as  many  kinds  of  steam  pumps 
are  but  gigantic  reproductions  of  the  ordinary 
pumps.  No  great  improvement  was  possible  until 
a  steady  and  adequate  motive  power  to  drive  the  ma- 
chines could  be  supplied.  Human  power  by  cranks 
and  pedals,  horse  power  in  various  ways,  wind  and 
water  were  all  employed.  But  none  can  for  one 
minute  be  compared  to  steam  ;  hence  the  invention 
by  Watt,  in  1784,  of  the  steam  engine,  justly 
marks  the  beginning  of  modern  machine  industry. 

Now  a  tireless  monster,  needing  only  a  due 
supply  of  coal,  oil,  and  water,  is  ready  to  do  our 
bidding ;  a  geni  more  powerful  far  than  Aladdin's 
is  at  our  service.  Progress  now  consists  in  improv- 
ing the  simple  tools,  the  conditions  under  which 
they  are  moved  being  now  altogether  different  than 
when  employed  by  the  individual  worker.  Re- 
semblance to  the  original  tools  gradually  disap- 
pears; they  are  more  and  more  perfected  until  they 
become  vast  automatons.  The  speed  at  which  they 
work  is  greatly  increased.  The  primitive  spindle 
revolved  but  a  few  hundred  times  a  minute ;  the 


AGE   OF   MACHINERY.  263 

modern  spindle  seven  thousand  times  a  minute. 
Machines  are  made  by  other  machines  with  mathe- 
matical precision.  Blectric  stops,  automatic  shut- 
offs,  and  innumerable  mechanical  devices  of  mar- 
velous ingenuity  are  constantly  being  invented  to 
take  the  place  of  the  human  hand,  or  eye,  or  ear, 
but  which,  unlike  them,  will  not  grow  weary,  or 
sleepy,  or  heedless.  The  element  of  technical  skill 
in  the  individual  worker,  on  which  nearly  all  de- 
pended in  the  earlier  stage,  is  thrust  more  and 
more  in  the  background.  The  machine  depends 
less  and  less  on  skilled  human  help.  If,  in  a  card- 
ing machine  nowadays,  a  thread  breaks,  the  ma- 
chine instantly  stops  until  the  attendant  on  duty 
remedies  the  trouble  and  starts  it  in  motion  again. 
No  skilled  worker  is  required  for  this.  With  only 
a  little  instruction,  a  boy  or  girl  can  do  all  that  is 
needed.  Probably  it  will  be  only  a  question  of 
time  when  still  other  machinery  will  be  automatic- 
ally set  in  motion  to  take  the  place  of  even  these 
attendants. 

In  discussing  the  respective  points  to  be  set 
down  to  the  credit  of  our  present  industrial  system, 
we  were  free  to  acknowledge  its  many  excellent  fea- 
tures, such  as  stimulating  individual  energy.  Now, 
in  the  use  of  machinery,  it  is  not  necessary  for  any 
one  to  speak  in  its  favor.  Our  advance  in  civiliza- 
tion voices  itself   in   mechanical  inventions.      No 


264  AGE    OF   MACHINERY. 

change  in  the  system  will  be  for  one  minnte  toler- 
ated which  does  not  accept  at  once  the  machinery 
of  the  day,  or  which  does  not  contrive  in  some  way 
to  hold  out  the  most  enticing  inducements  to  men 
to  continue  in  the  field  of  invention.  We  want  to 
spur  men  on  to  struggle  for  still  greater  conquests, 
even  richer  prizes  in  the  future.  We  have  but  just 
begun  the  exploitations  of  electricity.  What  mar- 
velous results  even  now  are  before  us.  Unless  we 
mistake,  there  is  a  richer  mine  awaiting  development 
here  than  in  the  exploitation  of  steam  during  the 
last  century.  And  just  at  this  time,  too,  we  are  but 
just  beginning  to  make  practical  use  of  one  of  the 
most  abundant  minerals  which  nature  has  provided 
for  us — aluminum. 

Pages  could  be  filled  with  a  description  of  its 
many  useful  qualities.  It  abounds  everywhere.- 
We  have  been  debarred  from  using  it  because  sci- 
ence had  discovered  no  way  of  reducing  it  from  its 
ore,  clay,  in  a  cheap  and  practical  wa}^.  We  hear 
rumors  every  day  that  the  secret  has  at  last  been 
solved.  There  has  certainly  been  a  great  reduction 
in  price  of  late  years,  and  undoubtedly  progress 
will  continue  in  this  direction.  We  believe  this 
discovery  as  truly  marks  the  opening  of  a  new  age 
in  civilization,  as  did  the  the  discovery  of  iron. 
What  this  means,  only  those  know  who  have  pon- 
dered  long   on    the   growth    of   civilization — have 


age;  of  machinery.  265 

studied  the  wonderful  advances  man  made  in  cul- 
ture when  he  gained  a  knowledge  of  bronze,  and 
more  wonderful  advance  still  when  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  iron.  Those  who  think  we  have 
about  reached  the  end  of  progress  in  mechanical 
inventions  are  as  certainly  in  error  as  was  the  theo- 
rizer  of  a  hundred  years  ago  who  might  have 
thought  the  invention  of  the  steam  engine  left 
nothing  more  to  be  desired. 

In  some  way,  then,  all  the  practical  results  now 
enjoyed  must  be  preserved,  and  further  discoveries 
still  must  be  sought  for.  All  this  can  be  said,  and 
still  we  need  not  shut  our  eyes  to  the  deplorable 
evils  that  accompany  the  increasing  use  of  ma- 
chinery. As  in  the  case  of  capital,  the  faults  must 
be  laid  not  to  the  use  of  machinery,  but  to  the  sys- 
tem in  which  it  is  applied.  It  is  slowly  but  surely, 
and  will  all  the  more  rapidly  in  the  future  degrade 
the  workmen,  and  redound  more  and  more  to  the 
benefit  of  capital.  The  same  set  of  causes  that  in 
the  past  have  disguised  the  evils  of  capitalist  pro- 
duction, to  a  similar  degree  have  kept  back  the 
evils  of  machinery.  There  has  been  a  vast  extent 
of  country  to  develop  ;  many  industries  to  be 
established,  many  new  wants  to  be  met.  Emigra- 
tion afforded  an  avenue  of  escape.  But  now  there 
are  no  more  new  worlds  for  the  restless  Aryan  to 
discover  and  colonize.     The  United  States  has  been 


266  AGE   OF    MACHINERY. 

in  the  past,  and  is  now,  the  dumping  ground  of 
Burope.  But  we  have  about  reached  a  turning 
point  in  our  history,  and  so  from  all  sources  we  can 
but  conclude  a  change  must  come  soon,  so  it  is  but 
wise  to  examine  more  particularly  into  this  ma- 
chine industry,  and  study  more  particularly  what 
its  effect  on  labor  has  been  in  the  past,  and  what  its 
probable  effect  will  be  in  the  future. 

We  are  prone  to  speak  of  labor  being  rendered 
much  more  productive  by  new  inventions  and  dis- 
coveries. But  now,  under  our  present  system,  in 
which  labor  is  but  a  commodity,  it  is  not  the 
laborer  who  gets  the  fruits  of  this  increased  pro- 
ductiveness. And  in  fact,  as  it  is  in  effect,  it  is  not 
true  that  labor  is  rendered  more  productive ;  the 
truth  is,  it  is  capital  that  is  rendered  more  pro- 
ductive. This  is  very  clear  when  we  stop  and  re- 
flect. A  mere  man,  by  his  own  unaided  exertions, 
can  do  no  more  to-day  than  he  could  one  hundred 
years  ago.  The  same  amount  of  exertion  will  tire 
him  quite  as  quickly  now  as  it  did  then.  He  can 
walk  no  further,  run  no  faster,  or  move  his  arms 
or  feet  more  quickly  than  he  could  then.  He  gets 
on  a  locomotive  and  goes  in  one  hour  a  distance  he 
could  not  have  traversed  in  a  day  then.  The 
result,  however,  is  due  not  to  his  powers,  but  to 
the  instruments  he  uses.  One  man,  working  with 
Goodyear's  sewing  machine  for    turned  shoes,  will 


AGE   OF    MACHINERY.  267 

sew  in  one  day  as  many  pairs  of  shoes  as  eight 
men  could  sew  by  hand ;  not  because  he  can  work 
harder,  but  because  he  uses  a  better  instrument  to 
help  him.  But  these  instruments  of  labor  are  cap- 
ital. The  growth  of  power  is  not  in  man,  in  labor, 
but  in  the  instruments  which  he  uses — in  capital. 
It  must  be  clear  that  whoever  owns  and  commands 
the  instruments  owns  and  commands  the  increase 
of  power.  As  far  as  capital  is  concerned,  inven- 
tion and  discoveries  have  been  of  enormous  value. 
Improved  machines  may  cost  it  more,  but  why 
should  the  labor  cost  any  more  ? 

In  geometry  we  sometimes  prove  the  truth  of  a 
proposition  by  a  reductio  ad  absurdem.  Something 
of  the  same  kind  can  be  employed  in  this  case. 
Let  us  suppose  that,  instead  of  improvement  in 
machines,  the  only  improvement  had  been  in  men ; 
that  every  now  and  then  improved  men  were  pro- 
duced, until  one  could  now  actually  move  his  hands 
so  fast  that  he  could  sew  eight  times  as  many  shoes 
in  a  day  as  he  formerly  did,  and  other  like  feats  in 
proportion.  Then,  indeed,  labor  would  be  more  pro- 
ductive, and  capital  would  have  to  pay  more  for  his 
services.  As  it  is  now,  how  can  it  be  otherwise 
than  that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  this  brilliant 
progress  of  the  last  century,  by  which,  in  some 
lines,  the  power  of  the  instruments  of  production 
have   been   increased   many  fold,   should   pass    on 


268  AGE   OF   MACHINERY. 

without  materially  affecting  the  condition  of  the 
laborer  ?  Any  change  in  the  price  of  the  raw  ma- 
terial which  capital  has  to  buy,  or  any  change  in 
the  technical  process  by  which  it  is  worked  up,  can 
not  effect  a  change  in  the  value  of  labor  itself.  It 
is  but  a  commodity,  which  capital  will  buy  as  low 
as  it  can. 

From  our  discussion  of  value  we  know  that 
improvement  in  machinery  must  result  in  lowering 
the  exchange  value  of  commodities.  If  the  amount 
of  human  labor  incorporated  in  a  pair  of  boots 
now  be  but  a  fraction  of  what  it  once  was,  then  boots 
must  have  less  of  exchange  value.  This  same  ar- 
gument is  true  in  the  case  of  all  commodities.  In 
this  way,  then,  the  general  public  must  be  greatly 
benefited.  Bvery  new  invention  is,  as  we  know, 
protected  by  monopolies,  but  in  course  of  time  the 
benefits  spread  out.  In  this  cheapness  of  com- 
modities laborers  must  be  benefited  the  same  as 
other  people.  On  this  fact  many  rely  as  sufficient 
answer  to  the  whole  question.  Theoretically  that 
ought  to  be  the  answer.  We  shall  find,  however, 
that  owing  to  many  causes  labor  does  not  and  can 
not  reap  all  the  advantages  to  which  it  should  be 
entitled.  It  can  not,  owing  to  the  system  under 
which  we  live.  We  can  see  no  escape  from  the 
conclusion  that  material  progress  in  this  direction 
must  be  accompanied  by  an  increasing  amount  of 


AGE   OF   MACHINERY.  269 

poverty  among  the  masses  of  the  people.  *  Is  there 
any  doubt  that  this  has  been  the  case  up  to  the 
present  ? 

Prof.  Thorold  Rogers  sums  up  his  researches 
into  the  economic  history  of  the  past  six  centuries 
as  follows :  "  Modern  civilization  will  be  judged, 
not  by  what  it  has  done,  but  by  what  it  has  left 
undone ;  not  by  what  it  has  remedied,  but  by  what 
it  has  failed  to  heal,  or  at  least  to  have  relieved ; 
not  by  its  successes,  but  by  its  shortcomings.  It 
may  be  that  the  progress  of  some  has  been  more 
than  counterbalanced  by  the  distress  and  sorrow  of 
many  ;  that  the  opulence  and  strength  of  modern 
times  mocks  the  poverty  and  misery  which  are 
bound  up  with  and  surround  them  ;  and  that  there 
is  an  uneasy  and  increasing  consciousness  that  the 
other  side  hates  and  threatens.  It  may  well  be  the 
case,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  fear  it  is  the  case, 
that  there  is  collected  a  population  in  our  great 
towns  which  equals  in  amount  the  whole  of  those 
who  lived  in  England  and  Wales  six  centuries 
ago,  but  whose  condition  is  more  destitute,  whose 
homes  are  more  squalid,  whose  means  are  more 
uncertain,  whose  prospects  are  more  hopeless  than 
those  of  the  poorest  serfs  of  the  Middle  Ages  and 
the  meanest  drudge  of  the  medieval  city." 

Why  is  it  that  labor  can  not  reap  its  propor- 
tionate share  of  benefit  derived  from  the  use  of 


270  age;  of  machinery. 

machinery  ?  Several  reasons  at  once  present  them- 
selves. An  invention  is  protected  by  a  patent, 
which  is  as  it  should  be,  since  we  ought  to  reward 
the  inventor  some  way.  But  it  remains  something 
of  a  monopoly  all  the  time.  Suppose  that  to-mor- 
row some  inventor  hits  on  a  means  of  making 
boots  at  one-half  the  price  they  can  now  be  manu- 
factured for;  but,  being  a  most  eccentric  sort  of  an 
individual,  he  refuses  to  take  out  a  patent  for  it, 
but  on  the  contrary  spreads  the  details  of  the  in- 
vention before  the  general  public.  The  price  of 
boots  will  not  fall  one-half,  simply  because  a  large 
amount  of  capital  is  required  to  embark  in  the 
manufacture  of  boots  and  shoes.  The  manufac- 
turers may  make  use  of  the  invention,  and  may  re- 
duce the  price  to  some  extent ;  but  since  every  one 
can  not  embark  in  the  business,  those  who  do 
might  as  well  reap  a  profit  on  the  invention.  This 
illustration  may  help  us  to  see  how  it  is  that  the 
more  the  amount  of  capital  required  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  fruits  of  material  invention  and  dis- 
covery of  modern  times,  the  harder  it  becomes  for 
mere  labor  to  reap  a  share  of  the  advantages. 

As  a  recent  writer  says :  "  During  the  last  half 
century,  and  more  particularly  during  the  last  gen- 
eration, the  rate  of  material  progress  has  been  ac- 
celerated to  an  almost  incredible  degree,  and  at  the 
same  time   nearly  all  essential  steps  in  progress 


AGE   OF   MACHINERY.  271 

have  been  of  such  a  nature  that  they  can  only  be 
utilized  by  the  help  of  a  large  amount  of  capital. 
Steam  and  electrical  engines  and  modern  machinery 
of  all  kinds  are  far  too  costly  to  be  procured  from 
what  the  ordinary  man  can  save  by  labor.  Circum- 
stances have  combined  to  make  the  command  of 
large  capital  much  more  than  formerly  indispensa- 
ble for  the  successful  carrying  on  of  most  staple 
trades  and  industries.  Only  an  amount  quite  be- 
yond the  reach  of  the  ordinary  laborer  can  secure 
to  a  man  a  claim  to  a  share  of  wealth  in  excess  of 
the  necessaries.  Capital  has  become  a  most  power- 
ful monopoly,  and  asserts  itself  as  such  to  the  det- 
riment of  labor."  The  fact  is,  as  we  shall  discover 
as  we  proceed  on  our  way,  that  in  this  case,  as  in 
other  directions,  capital,  not  content  with  the  natu- 
ral advantages  of  its  position,  has  of  late  found  a 
new  and  powerful  way  of  increasing  them. 

But  let  us  consider  the  case  a  little  further. 
Suppose  a  man  desires  to  embark  in  business,  and 
decides  to  manufacture  boots  and  shoes.  His  cap- 
ital may  be  any  amount,  say  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  A  portion  he  must  lay  out  in  a  building, 
wishing  to  take  advantage  of  the  most  improved 
machinery ;  another  large  portion  is  laid  out  in 
that  direction.  Another  portion  still  must  be  laid 
out  in  raw  materials.  Still  another  portion  must 
be  put  aside  as  a  reserve  wherewith  to  pay  his  labor- 


272  AGE    OF   MACHINERY. 

ers.  This  is  but  a  typical  case,  and  may  be  taken 
to  represent  the  manufacturing  world  in  general. 
It  must  be  clear,  without  any  reference  to  what  is 
known  as  the  "  wages  fund  "  theory,  about  which 
economical  writers  are  still  arguing,  that  one  hun- 
dred years  ago,  for  instance,  the  amount  devoted  to 
the  purchase  of  machinery  and  the  employment  of 
labor  must  have  had  quite  a  different  proportion 
from  what  they  hold  to-day.  When  we  extend  this 
observation  to  the  whole  manufacturing  world,  and 
reflect  on  the  enormous  increase  of  machinery,  we 
can  not  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the  inevitable 
effect  of  material  progress  is  that  a  smaller  and 
smaller  proportionate  part  of  the  total  national 
capital  will  be  devoted  to  the  employment  of  labor. 
Thus  in  i860  there  was  an  adult  male  laborer  em- 
ployed for  every  nine  hundred  and  seventy  dollars 
of  capital  invested.  Twenty  years  later  an  adult 
male  laborer  was  employed  for  every  thirteen*hun- 
dred  and  thirty-two  dollars  of  capital  invested. 

Notice,  no  one  says  that  an  absolutely  smaller 
amount  will  be  devoted  to  the  employment  of  labor. 
Capital  is  increasing  very  fast ;  a  smaller  propor- 
tionate amount  may  be  a  relatively  larger  sum. 
But,  for  all  that,  the  conclusion  is  a  most  disheart- 
ening one.  "  It  involves,"  says  Prof.  Cairns,  "  a 
tendency  towards  a  relative  increase  of  the  classes 
living  by  hired  labor  as  compared  with  those  who 


AGE  OF  MACHINERY.  273 

do  not ;  and  again  a  tendency  towards  increased 
inequality  in  the  distribution  of  wealth.  *  *  * 
These  tendencies  have  in  general  been  very  fully 
realized  in  the  actual  experience  of  the  world,  and 
in  an  eminent  degree  in  the  experience  of  Great 
Britain.  I  am  justified  in  asserting  that  the  per- 
manent maintenance  of  a  regime  such  as  is  contem- 
plated (z.  e.,  wherein  labor  is  but  a  commodity,  the 
laborer  receiving  wages  merely),  co-existing  with  a 
progressive  industry,  can  only  issue  in  one  result — 
a  constant  exaggeration  of  those  features  already 
beginning  to  mark  so  unpleasantly  the  aspect  of 
our  social  state — namely,  a  harsh  separation  of 
classes,  combined  with  those  glaring  inequalities 
in  the  distribution  of  wealth,  which  most  people 
will  agree  are  among  the  chief  elements  of  our  so- 
cial instability." 

Thus  we  see  that  in  spite  of  the  many  good 
things  that  can  be  said  of  the  wonderful  extension 
of-  industry  by  aid  of  mechanical  inventions ;  in 
spite  of  glowing  figures,  showing  the  enormous 
increase  of  national  wealth,  there  is,  after  all,  an- 
other side.  This  very  progress  means  more  sharp 
division  into  classes.  What  little  comfort  the  situ- 
ation affords  lies  in  the  fact  that,  as  a  consumer, 
the  laborer  is  benefited,  and  thus  the  standard  of 
comfort  is  increasing.     Let  us  inquire  into   that. 

Suppose  that  by  a  most  marvelous  series  of  inven- 

17 


274  AGK   OF   MACHINERY. 

tions  all  the  necessities  of  life  were  to  be  reduced 
one-half  in  cost,  so  that  a  laborer  who  was  now 
receiving,  say  two  dollars  for  a  day's  work,  which 
at  present  just  supported  him,  would  have  a  dollar 
to  spare.  How  long  would  his  wages  remain  at 
that  point?  How  long  before  he  would  be  informed 
that  since  everything  had  fallen  in  value  one-half, 
his  wages  would  be  reduced  that  amount?  If  the 
change  was  very  gradual,  and  only  after  many 
years  that  the  above  result  was  reached — still,  ac- 
cording to  the  law  of  labor  value,  his  wages  would 
decline  as  his  living  grew  cheaper.  With  this  dif- 
ference, however,  he  might  have  got  used  to  a  few 
extra  comforts,  which  would  now  become  a  part  of 
his  living — the  use  of  tea,  coffee,  and  sugar,  a 
more  comfortable  bed  to  sleep  in,  a  trifle  better 
home  to  live  in.  All  this  can  be  admitted,  but  the 
simple  fact  is,  the  laborer's  improvement  nowhere 
near  keeps  equal  pace  with  the  improvements  in 
manufacturing.  The  simple  fact  that  in  Ohio,  in 
1885,  where  modern  production  was  at  its  best,  the 
workman  could  spend  for  all  purposes  of  sub- 
sistence less  than  fourteen  cents  per  day  per  person 
in  his  family,  shows  that  a  stern  economy  was  nec- 
essary, and  the  standard  of  comfort  not  remarkably 

high. 

No  one  familiar  with  the  statistics  of  labor  can 
for  one  moment  doubt  the  general  truth  of  what 


AGE   OF   MACHINERY.  275 

we  have  just  stated.  Supposing  we  take  the  cotton 
industry  in  our  country  as  typical  of  all  industries. 
From  1828  to  1880  the  cost  per  pound  of  cotton 
cloth  was  reduced  a  trine  over  fifty  per  cent. 
Wages  rose  during  that  period  eighty-five  per  cent. 
The  consumption  of  cotton  cloth,  which,  in  this 
case,  represents  the  standard  of  comfort,  increased 
greatly.  Working  time  slightly  decreased.  In  the 
meantime  luxuries  became  necessaries,  and  to  a 
very  large  extent  were  placed  within  the  reach  of 
people  of  small  means.  "And  yet,"  says  the  Com- 
missioner of  Labor  for  the  United  States,  from 
whose  report  we  have  drawn  the  foregoing,  "should 
the  question  be  asked,  Has  the  wage-worker  received 
his  equitable  share  of  the  benefits  derived  from  the 
introduction  of  machinery  ?  the  answer  must  be 
no."  Not  receiving  his  equitable  share,  simply 
means  he  is  falling  behind  in  the  race ;  simply 
means  that  the  gulf  between  the  propertied  class 
and  those  without  it  is  increasing,  and  that  is  the 
verdict  of  history. 

All  we  have  had,  as  yet,  to  say  on  the  general 
subject  of  machinery  has  been  on  the  supposition 
that  in  spite  of  the  introduction  of  machinery,  and 
the  constant  improvements  made  in  the  same,  the 
workmen  somehow  have  been  retained  in  remuner- 
ative employment  right  along.  But  now  the  simple 
fact  is,  the  progress  of  mechanical  invention  tends 


276  AGE  OF  MACHINERY. 

to  reduce  all  labor  to  the  simple  plane  of  unskilled 
labor ;  as  it  lowers  its  quality,  the  price  is  lowered ; 
competition  becomes  more  intense  along  the  lower 
levels.  This  follows  because,  in  the  first  place, 
new  inventions  are  constantly  displacing  laborers 
in  every  department  of  production.  These  men 
can  not  enter  on  a  higher  grade  of  work ;  they 
must  enter  on  a  lower  grade  if  they  can  possibly 
crowd  in,  and  this  "  crowding  in  "  is  getting  harder 
all  the  time.  In  fact,  material  progress  is  acting 
on  the  world  of  labor  to  reduce  it  all  to  a  common 
level. 

Few  have  a  correct  idea  of  the  displacement  of 
labor  by  machinery  within  the  last  few  years.  It  is 
unsafe  to  quote  figures  even  from  so  late  a  source  as 
the  labor  report  of  1886,  as  progress  has  continued 
at  a  very  great  rate  since.  "However,  taking  the 
commissioner's  report  for  that  time,  we  find  that  in 
the  making  of  agricultural  implements  about  sixty- 
three  per  cent,  of  labor  has  been  displaced  within 
the  last  fifteen  years.  The  manufacture  of  boots 
and  shoes  offers  some  very  wonderful  facts  in  this 
connection.  In  one  large  and  long  established 
manufactory  in  one  of  the  Eastern  States  the  pro- 
prietors testify  that  it  would  require  five  hundred 
persons  working  by  hand  processes  to  make  as 
many  women's  boots  and  shoes  as  one  hundred 
persons  now  make  with  the  aid  of  machinery — a 


AGK   OF   MACHINERY.  277 

displacement  of  eighty  per  cent.  A  large  Phil- 
adelphia firm,  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
boys'  and  children's  shoes,  states  that  the  intro- 
duction of  machinery  within  the  past  thirty  years 
has  displaced  about  six  times  the  amount  of 
hand  labor  required.  One  large  broom  manufac- 
turing concern  in  1879  employed  seventeen  skilled 
men  to  manufacture  five  hundred  dozen  brooms  per 
week.  In  1885,  only  six  years  later,  with  nine  men 
and  the  introduction  of  new  machinery,  the  firm 
turned  out  twelve  hundred  dozen  brooms  weekly. 
A  displacement  of  eighty  per  cent.  In  the  manu- 
facture of  carpets,  some  of  the  leading  manufac- 
turers of  the  country,  and  men  of  the  largest  ex- 
perience, consider  that  the  improvement  in  ma- 
chinery in  the  past  thirty  years,  taking  weaving, 
spinning,  and  all  of  the  processes  together,  have 
displaced  from  ten  to  twenty  times  the  number  of 
persons  now  necessary.  In  spinning  alone  it 
would  take,  by  the  old  methods,  from  seventy-five 
to  on^.  hundred  times  the  number  of  operatives 
now  employed  to  turn  out  the  same  amount  of 
work,  while  in  weaving  there  would  be  required  at 
least  ten  times  the  present  number.  In  the  cotton 
goods  industry  there  has  been  a  great  displacement 
even  lately.  In  a  large  establishment  in  New 
Hampshire  improved  machinery,  even  within  ten 
years,  has  reduced  muscular  labor  fifty  per  cent. 


278  AGE   OF   MACHINERY. 

in  the  production  of  the  same  quality  of  goods. 
Consider,  for  instance,  what  the  following  state- 
ment means :  "  In  the  olden  days  in  this  country 
a  fair  adult  hand-loom  weaver  wove  from  forty-two 
to  forty-eight  yards  of  common  shirting  per  week. 
A  weaver,  tending  six  power  looms  in  a  cotton  fac- 
tory of  to-day,  would  produce  1,500  yards  a  week." 
That  is  to  say,  these  machines,  with  their  one  at- 
tendant, now  do  the  work  of  3,000  men.  In  the 
manufacture  of  flour  there  has  been  a  displacement 
of  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  manual  labor  neces- 
sary to  produce  the  same  product.  In  the  manu- 
facture of  furniture  from  one-half  to  three-fourths 
only  of  the  old  number  of  persons  is  now  required. 
In  the  manufacture  of  glass  jars  and  some  kinds  of 
bottles  the  introduction  of  machinery  has  caused  a 
displacement  in  the  proportions  of  six  to  one.  A 
saving  of  twenty-five  per  cent,  is  made  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  machines  and  machinery  over  the  old 
hand  methods.  In  the  production  of  metals  and 
metallic  goods,  long  established  firms  testify  that 
machinery  has  decreased  manual  labor  thirty-three 
and  one-third  per  cent.  In  1876  certain  kinds  of 
tinware  were  made  by  the  old  processes  by  the 
gross,  a  skilled  workman  making  a  gross  in  about' 
one  and  a  half  days.  By  the  use  of  improved  ma- 
chinery the  workman  can  now  turn  out  five  times 
as  much  product  in  the  same  time.     One  boy,  run- 


AGE   OF  MACHINERY.  279 

ning  a  planing  machine,  in  turning  wood-work  for 
musical  instruments,  does  the  work  of  twenty-five 
men.  In  the  manufacture  of  paper,  a  well-known 
firm  in  New  Hampshire  states  that,  by  the  aid  of 
machinery,  it  produces  three  times  the  quantity, 
with  the  same  number  of  employes,  that  it  did 
twenty  years  ago.  In  the  manufacture  of  wall 
paper  the  best  evidence  puts  the  displacement  in 
the  proportion  of  one  hundred  to  one. 

In  the  manufacture  of  railroad  supplies  there 
has  been  a  displacement  of  fifty  per  cent,  of  the 
labor  formerly  required,  while  in  some  features  of 
the  manufacture  of  cars  there  has  been  a  displace- 
ment of  three  times  the  labor  now  employed.  A 
large  soap  manufacturing  concern  very  carefully  es- 
timates the  displacement  of  labor  in  its  works  at 
fifty  per  cent.  In  building  vessels,  four  or  five 
times  the  amount  of  labor  can  be  performed  to-day 
by  the  use  of  machinery,  in  a  given  time,  than 
could  be  done  under  the  old  methods.  In  the 
woolen  manufacture,  one  large  establishment  care- 
fully worked  out  the  displacement  of  labor,  and 
gives  the  following  results :  In  weaving  woolens, 
one  machine  equals  six  persons ;  in  spinning,  one 
machine  equals  twenty  persons ;  in  twisting,  one 
machine  equals  fifteen  persons ;  in  picking,  one 
machine  equals  forty  persons ;  and  in  carding,  one 
set  of  patent  carders  will   turn  out  more  in  one 


280  AGE  OF  MACHINERY. 

day  than  the  old  carders  would  in  one  week. 
Thus  we  see  that,  taking  nearly  every  depart- 
ment of  productive  industry,  we  find  a  displace- 
ment of  labor  within  the  last  few  years.  It  is  es- 
timated the  last  generation  has  witnessed  the 
power  of  machinery  at  least  doubled.  That  means 
that  relatively  one-half  of  the  workmen  employed 
in  all  fields  of  production,  wherein  machinery  plays 
a  part,  must  have  been  displaced.  What  will  these 
displaced  men  do  ?  They  can  only  seek  work  in 
lower  levels,  from  the  simple  fact  that  they  are  not 
qualified  for  anything  higher.  This  displacement 
is  often  spoken  of  as  a  temporary  inconvenience 
only.  To  the  men  individually  concerned  it  is 
much  more  than  a  temporary  inconvenience,  and 
we  insist  that,  taking  labor  generally,  this  displace- 
ment tends  to  lower  the  grade  of  labor.  For  now 
let  us  consider  in  what  fields  labor  will  be  in- 
creased. The  manufacture  of  the  improved  ma- 
chinery will  of  course  give  employment  to  a  few 
workmen,  but  this  can  be  only  a  small  proportion 
to  the  labor  displaced.  If  it  were  otherwise,  ma- 
chinery would  be  too  costly  for  practical  use.  The 
other  principal  field,  wherein  extra  work  would  be 
provided,  would  be  in  providing  raw  material. 
More  cotton  must  be  grown  to  provide  for  in- 
creased production  of  cotton  goods  ;  more  iron  must 
be  mined  for  increased  iron  machines,  etc.     But,  as 


AGE   OF   MACHINERY.  281 

a  general  rule,  the  preparation  of  raw  material  is 
a  work  of  a  lower  grade.  Then,  besides,  all  these 
ranks  of  labor  are  already  full,  yet  an  undue  amount 
of  competition  must  be  thrown  on  them  to  pro- 
vide work  for  those  displaced  by  the  machines. 

There  is  another  aspect  to  this  case.  The  ten- 
dency of  all  advance  in  machinery  is  to  replace 
the  labor  of  men  with  that  of  women  and  children. 
Economically  considered,  this  is  bad  for  a  country. 
Wherever  and  whenever  it  is  necessary  and  com- 
mon for  all  the  members  of  a  family,  the  mother 
and  children,  as  well  as  the  husband  and  father,  to 
work  at  manual  labor  "to  support  the  family,  as  a 
natural  consequence  ignorance  is  more  prevalent, 
society  is  less  refined,  and  the  standard  of  life  is 
not  as  high  as  in  other  times  and  places,  when  such 
labor  on  the  part  of  women  and  children  is  not 
necessary.  So  true  is  this  that  the  most  civilized 
nations  interfere  in  various  ways  to  regulate  this 
matter.  The  most  glaring  evils  may  be  said  to  be 
corrected,  yet  none  the  less  is  it  true  that,  econom- 
ically considered,  the  displacement  of  men  by 
women  and  children  is  bad.  Yet,  if  we  compare 
the  two  census  years  of  1870  and  1880,  we  will  no- 
tice that  while  in  1870  the  number  of  women  and 
children  under  sixteen  years  of  age  formed  twenty- 
three  per  cent,  of  the  whole  wage-working  popula- 
tion, ten  years  later  they  formed  twenty-six  per  cent. 


282  AGE   OF   MACHINERY. 

The  introduction  of  child  labor  steadily  in- 
creased after  machinery  was  extensively  used,  until 
legislation  in  this  and  other  lands  attempted  to 
remedy  the  evils.  In  Ohio,  for  instance,  a  recent 
law  on  this  subject  yet  remains  to  be  tested.  The 
old  law  against  the  employment  of  children  under 
fourteen  was  largely  a  dead  letter.  In  the  com- 
missioner's report  for  1882  we  learn  that  children, 
in  the  most  cases  under  fourteen  years  of  age, 
formed  the  following  per  cent,  of  the  total  number 
of  hands  employed  in  the  various  industries : 

PER  CENT. 

Woolen,  cotton,  and  bagging'  mills 39 

Glass  works 36 

Cigar  and  tobacco  factories 32 

Furniture  factories 23 

Coal  mines 23 

Cooperage  factories 22 

Paper  mills,  paper  box,  and  bag  factories 21 

It  is  not  necessary  to  point  out  the  many  evils 
following  from  such  a  course.  The  commissioner 
was  informed  that  in  the  cigar  factories  of  Cincin- 
nati there  were  at  work  "  hundreds  of  children  un- 
der fourteen  years  of  age  who  worked  ten  hours  a 
day,  and  in  most  cases  in  the  filthiest  portion  of 
the  factories."  In  machine  shops  "  small  boys 
and  girls  are  put  to  work  who  can  not  cipher  their 
own  earnings,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  they  know  the 
east  from  the  west."  From  the  manufacturing  city 
of  Springfield  he  learned  that  "  there  are  a  good 


AGE   OF   MACHINERY.  283 

many  children  employed  in  the  different  shops  here. 
I  have  seen  a  boy  go  to  work  in  one  of  the  shops 
here  that  I  know  is  not  over  ten  years  old;  he 
works  ten  hours  each  day.  Where  employes  can 
use  boys  in  the  shops  they  will  not,  as  a  rule,  hire 
men."  In  one  of  the  largest  furniture  factories  of 
the  State  about  one-half  of  the  work  done  was 
performed  by  children,  ranging  in  age  from  ten  to 
fifteen  years.  It  is  not  necessary  to  remark  that 
mere  improvement  in  machines  is  not  responsible 
for  all  this  evil ;  still  its  tendency  is  unmistakably 
in  that  direction.  We  must  not  make  the  mistake 
of  supposing  Ohio  is  particularly  backward  in 
this  respect.  Nearly  all  the  States  in  this  Union 
permit  such  evils  as  this.  In  most  of  the  Southern 
States  there  is  absolutely  no  law  on  the  subject. 
The  Georgia  Legislature,  only  two  years  ago,  re- 
fused to  pass  a  bill  forbidding  the  employment  of 
children  under  ten  years  of  age,  and  at  that  identi- 
cal time,  within  fifteen  minutes  of  the  capitol 
building,  scores  of  little  children  were  working  in 
cotton  factories,  some  of  them  so  young  that  their 
speech  was  lisping  baby  talk.  Yet  the  law  permits 
these  poor  little  tots  to  be  worked  from  sunrise  to 
sunset  every  week  day  in  the  year,  no  attendance 
at  school  being  compelled.  In  effect  we  can  but 
conclude  that,  at  present,  improvement  in  ma- 
chinery results  not  only  in  diminishing  the  num- 


284  AGE  OF  MACHINERY. 

ber  of  hands  necessary  to  produce  a  given  result, 
but  it  substitutes  workmen  of  less  skill,  and  women 
and  children  for  adult  males. 

The  value  of  labor  consists  not  alone  in  force, 
but  in  skill.  It  is  clear,  then,  that  the  more  the 
skill  of  the  machine  is  increased,  the  more  auto- 
matic it  becomes  in  its  movements,  the  less  neces- 
sity there  is  for  the  exercise  of  skill  on  the  labor- 
er's part.  Instead  of  the  simple  tools  of  former 
years,  made  productive  by  the  skillful  labors  of  men, 
we  have  highly  complex  and  perfected  machinery, 
tended  by  mere  machine  minders,  who  have  hardly 
any  incentive  to  increase  their  personal  skill. 
Hence  it  is  no  wonder  that  nowadays  comparatively 
few  apprentices  in  the  mechanical  trades  serve  out 
their  full  time  of  apprenticeship,  as  can  be  seen  in 
the  tables  of  labor  statistics  for  1884.  What  is  the 
use  of  working  for  apprentice  wages  when  they 
might  as  well  start  up  as  journeymen? 

We  have  endeavored  in  this  chapter  to  write 
candidly  on  the  question  of  the  relation  between 
machinery  and  labor.  We  have  not  been  unmind- 
ful of  the  heavy  indebtedness  which  our  present 
enlightenment  owes  to  the  inventive  ingenuity  of 
man.  We  can  not  for  one  moment  think  of  doing 
without  them,  or  take  any  steps  calculated  to  stop 
the  onward  march  of  progress.  And  yet  we  can 
but  come  to  a  very  sad  conclusion  in  regard  to  this 


AGE   OF   MACHINERY.  285 

triumphant  progress,  this  increasing  victory  of 
man's  inventive  ingenuity.  According  to  the  cen- 
sus of  1880  there  are  not  far  from  10,000,000  wage- 
workers  in  the  United  States,  who  may  be  classed 
either  as  laborers  or  workmen,  engaged  in  produc- 
tive industries.  The  census  of  1890  will  certainly 
show  a  considerable  increase  over  those  figures. 
An  immense  number,  then,  of  our  fellow  citizens 
can  but  view  with  alarm  the  tendency  of  advancing 
civilization.  Any  way  you  have  a  mind  to  look  at 
the  problem,  given  only  our  present  system,  prog- 
ress in  this  direction  means  placing  them  more  and 
more  in  the  power  of  capital.  In  the  first  place, 
only  capital  can  make  use  of  improved  machinery ; 
in  the  second  place,  slowly,  but  surely,  machinery 
tends  to  reduce  all  labor  to  the  level  of  unskilled 
labor. 

Why  is  it  that  laborers  submit  to  such  wrongs 
as  those  at  Spring  Valley  ?  Because  of  the  terrible 
necessity  they  are  under  of  disposing  of  their 
labor.  Why  is  it  that  men,  women,  and  children 
submit  to  terrible  drudgery  for  only  what  will 
support  them  in  the  very  lowest  conditions  of  life  ? 
Because  that  way  only  can  they  procure  the  means 
of  their  wretched  livelihood.  Need  we  wonder, 
then,  that  10,000,000  people  in  the  United  States, 
one-fifth  of  our  population  (1880),  dread -the  grad- 
ual march  of  events  that  are  forcing  them  down 


286  AGE   OF   MACHINERY. 

the  decline  towards  some  such  state  as  that  ?  What 
shall  they  do  ?  They  are  not  from  choice  anarch- 
ists, communists,  or  law-defying  people,  but  they 
feel  instinctively  that  something  is  wrong.  They 
are  right.  Calm  men,  eminent  divines,  clear-headed 
professional  men  in  the  most  advanced  countries  of 
the  world  are  awakening  to  the  fact  that  something 
must  be  done. 


288         INVENTOR    OF  THE    BESSEMER    PROCESS. 


COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION.  289 


CHAPTER  X. 

COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION. 

Where  we  stand — The  two  stages  of  the  present  system — Age  of 
competition — History  of  this  stage — The  doctrine  of  "  Laissez-faire  " — 
Ifie  defects  of  this  doctrine — Modern  legislation  and  this  doctrine — 
Freedom  of  competition— Individual  self-love — Benefits  of  competi- 
tion— Incentive  to  exertions — The  abuse  of  competition — Competition 
tends  to  lower  the  grade  of  work — Individuals  powerless  to  effect  a 
change — Capital  benefited  by  competition — The  age  of  combination — 
Growth  of  large  factories — A  struggle  for  existence — The  "trust" — 
Growth  of  trusts — Benefits  of  the  plan — Effects  of  the  new  system — 
The  trust  the  logical  outcome  of  competition — Conclusion. 

jj&>  HAVB  now  treated  of  the  gen- 
eral nature  of  capitalist  produc- 
tion. We  have  seen  the  foun- 
dation on  which  it  rests  is  that 
labor  is  a  commodity.  We  have  spent  con- 
siderable time  in  tracing  out  the  far-reach- 
ing consequences  of  this  fact.  We  found  that  this 
principle  applies  also  to  agricultural  labor,  showing 
by  official  returns  that  our  farmers  did  not  receive 
as  a  reward  for  their  labor  more  than  what  the 
workmen  received  as  a  reward  for  their  labor.  We 
then  inquired  more  particularly  into  the  nature  of 
our  present  industrial  system ;  what  further  con- 
sequences flowed  from  the  necessity  of  capital  to 


29O  COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION. 

procure  its  labor  as  cheaply  as  possible,  thereby 
taking  advantage  of  the  necessities  of  the  laborers, 
and  of  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  commodity  he 
had  to  sell.  Then  we  considered  the  consequences 
of  the  second  principle  guiding  the  movement  of 
capital ;  the  necessity  of  making  the  work  of  the 
laborer  as  productive  as  possible.  Finally,  we  have 
examined  into  the  tendency  of  material  progress, 
in  the  perfection  of  machinery,  and  discovered  that 
capital  could  expect  a  far  more  abundant  return 
than  labor. 

We  now  want  to  pay  more  attention  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  present  system.  There  are  two 
well-defined  stages  in  its  history.  We  are  but  just 
entering  on  the  second  stage.  We  can  say  that  the 
one  stage  represents  the  youth  of  capital  produc- 
tion ;  the  second,  its  maturity.  Perhaps,  considering 
the  striking  metamorphosis  undergone,  the  complete 
change  of  programme,  it  would  be  more  appropri- 
ate to  designate  these  two  stages  as  the  caterpillar 
and  butterfly  stages.  It  is  capital  in  both  cases; 
but  here  is  an  exception  to  the  old  rule  that  a 
"  rose  will  smell  as  sweet  by  any  other  name," 
since  capital  is  decidedly  sweeter  to  its  fortunate 
possessor  in  the  second  stage  than  in  the  first.  In 
the  first  stage  the  principle  of  action  is  competition  ; 
in  the  second  stage  competition  is  banished — con- 
centration is  the  watch-word.     Yet  the  one  stage 


COMPETITION    AND   COMBINATION.  29 1 

as  naturally  grows  out  of  the  first  as  the  butterfly 
evolves  from  the  caterpillar,  and  capital  enters  on 
a  stage  of  existence  which  as  far  surpasses  its  pre- 
vious one  in  capacity  to  enjoy  the  good  things  of 
this  world,  flitting  lightly  from  one  coin  of  advan- 
tage to  the  other,  instead  of  meekly  crawling  along 
as  of  yore,  as  the  one  stage  of  insect  life  surpasses 
the  other.  However,  we  will  take  more  prosaic 
names,  and  speak  of  the  age  of  competition  and 
the  age  of  monopoly. 

And  first  we  want  to  consider  the  age  of  com- 
petition. It  is  necessary  to  make  a  little  historical 
excursion.  Adam  Smith  is  regarded  as  the  father 
of  the  present  system  of  political  economy  in 
England.  At  the  time  he  wrote  it  seemed  to  him 
clear  that  all  the  ills  which  the  society  of  the  day 
suffered  under  were  due  to  annoying  restrictions 
on  industrial  freedom.  We  must  remember  that 
even  one  hundred  years  ago  there  were  many  re- 
strictions hindering  the  free  movement  of  indus- 
trial life,  which  had  come  down  as  an  inheritance 
from  the  gild  system.  It  may  not  be  generally 
known  that  James  Watt,  the  inventor,  was  refused 
permission  by  the  Gild  of  Hammermen  to  practice 
his  profession  in  Glasgow.  Smith,  however,  as  one 
of  the  professors  in  the  university,  allowed  him  to 
set  up  his  work-shop  within  the  walls  of  the  uni- 
versity building,  where  the  hammermen  could  not 

18 


292  COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION. 

prevent  him.  Thus,  while  the  Professor  was  writ- 
ing his  great  work,  "  Wealth  of  Nations,"  and  con- 
demning such  practices  as  this,  the  mechanic  was 
bringing  to  perfection  his  steam  engine,  which  was 
to  make  the  industrial  age,  on  which  they  were  en- 
tering, a  success. 

This  demand  for  freedom  from  all  restrictions 
in  industrial  life,  freedom  of  contract,  of  produc- 
tion, and  of  exchange,  was  supported  by  all  the 
older  class  of  economical  writers  in  England,  such 
as  Smith,  Ricardo,  and  Malthus.  Their  ideas  in 
regard  to  state  action  was  summed  up  in  a  French 
phrase,  which  is  still  to  be  seen  in  nearly  every 
text-book  on  the  subject  (Laissez-faire),  which  may 
be  freely  translated  by  "  let  alone,"  or  perhaps  bet- 
ter still,  "  hands  off."  In  other  words,  about  all 
government  was  to  do  was  to  preserve  national  dig- 
nity, repress  and  punish  crime,  and  guard  the  sa- 
credness  of  contract.  All  it  seemed  to  these  writers 
necessary  to  do  was  to  have  perfect  freedom  of 
trade,  both  external  and  internal ;  to  leave  both 
employers  and  employes  at  perfect  liberty  to  make 
such  contracts  as  they  saw  fit,  and  all  would  be 
well.  These  writers  were  true  to  their  convictions, 
as  is  shown  in  their  after  course  in  protesting  and 
working  against  the  passage  of  the  factory  acts ; 
not  because  they  did  not  sympathize  with  the  work- 
men, but  because  they  sincerely  thought  that  this 


COMPETITION    AND   COMBINATION.  293 

was  a  matter  in  which  the  state  should  not  inter- 
fere. This  same  view  is  still  upheld  by  some  of 
the  clearest  thinkers  and  writers  of  the  day. 

It  was  this  position  of  the  great  economical 
writers  on  the  question  of  state  interference  that 
lost  the  science  of  political  economy  the  good  will 
of  the  masses  of  the  people.  These  scholarly  men 
could  plainly  see  many  evils  of  trade  restriction. 
They  knew  that,  as  civilization  had  advanced,  indi- 
vidual rights  had  been  slowly  evolved.  They  did 
not  take  notice  of  the  fact  that,  with  every  advance 
in  civilization,  mankind  was  becoming  more  and 
more  inter-dependent ;  that  while  each  little  group, 
each  village  community  lived  isolated  and  inde- 
pendent of  the  others,  now,  on  the  other  hand,  each 
section  depended  on  the  others ;  that  each  individ- 
ual had  a  claim  on  all  other  individuals  much 
stronger  than  in  the  primitive  times,  when  tribal 
society  was  in  force ;  that  the  very  advance  of  civil- 
ization, while  freeing  the  individual,  makes  the 
community  more  responsible  to  the  individual. 
We  all  know  that  the  common  people  were  right  in 
this  matter,  the  scholars  wrong.  The  pendulum 
has  been  traveling  the  other  way.  The  tendency 
is  for  the  state  to  interfere  more  and  more.  Not  only 
has  it  enacted  factory  legislation,  prohibiting  undue 
hours  of  labor,  but  it  has  regulated  the  employ- 
ment of  women  and  children  ;  it  has  passed  many 


294  COMPETITION  AND   COMBINATION. 

laws  to  provide  for  the  safety  and  health  of  labor- 
ers in  mines  and  factories,  and  there  are  not  a  few 
who  think  the  state  ought  to  go  much  further  in 
this  general  direction. 

All  legislation  of  this  kind  would  have  been 
severely    condemned   by    the   older   writers.      But 
these  more  modern  views  we  have  set  forth  above 
are  now  in  the  ascendant.      From  what  we  have 
said  we  can  at  once  see  that  competition  would  be 
held  up  as  the  one  great  virtue  of  the  day.     In  in- 
dustrial  matters   it  was  supposed  to  be  the  great 
cure-all  for  ills.     If  prices  were  too  high,  competi- 
tion would   soon  bring  them   to  the  proper  level. 
If  one  employer  wanted  to  work  his  men  unrea- 
sonably long  hours,  the  supposition  was  that  men 
would  leave  him  and  go  to  work  for  some  more 
merciful  master.     In  short,  competition,  freedom 
of  contract,   each   one  at  liberty  to  look   out  for 
number  one,  were   thought  to  be  the  elements  of 
happy  industrial  progress.    But,  above  all,  competi- 
tion was  thought  to  be  the  great  virtue.     Accord- 
inly,  in    the  new  industrial  age  then  just  begin- 
ning, competition  was   made  the  corner   stone  of 
progress.      Such    popular   maxims   as   "  Competi- 
tion is  the  life  of  trade  "  came  into  common  use. 
Under  the  banner  of  competition,  then,  the  first 
stage  of  our  present  industrial  system  was  passed. 
"Competition,"  says  Toynbee,  "we  now  recognize 


COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION.  295 

to  be  a  thing  neither  good  nor  bad ;  we  look  upon 
it  as  resembling  a  great  physical  force,  which 
can  not  be  destroyed,  but  may  be  controlled  and 
modified."  Very  good.  It  is  a  force  that  may  be 
used  for  good  or  for  evil.  That  is  what  we  want  to 
recognize  to  start  with.  We  now  want  to  inquire 
wherein  it  worked  for  good,  wherein  for  evil,  and 
why  it  is  now  about  to  be  discarded. 

However  much  in  fault  the  older  economists 
were  as  to  the  beneficent  result  of  competition, 
there  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  soundness  of  their  views 
on  another  question.  Stated  in  plain  language, 
this  principle  is  that  man  is  bound  to  look  out  for 
number  one  ;  it  is  expressed  in  smoother  language ; 
it  is  spoken  of  as  man's  self-love.  The  idea  was 
that  an  individual  will  ardently  pursue  what  he  re- 
gards as  his  own  best  interests.  The  economist 
drew  the  further  conclusion  that  such  conduct 
would  advance  the  best  interests  of  all.  In  this 
they  were  wrong  again.  The  individual's  best  in- 
terests are  not  always  the  best  interests  of  society. 
Here  we  are  not  talking  about  man's  higher  moral 
interests,  his  real  interests,  so  to  speak,  but  of  his 
selfish,  economical,  temporal  interests. 

In  our  complex  society  many  individuals  are 
striving  to  achieve  the  same  ends.  They  will  com- 
pete one  against  the  other.  They  will  resort  to 
various    measures,    the    one    to    outdo    the    other. 


20  COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION. 

They  are  each  and  all  actively  pursuing  the  course 
which  they  think  will  redound  to  their  individual 
interest.  To  do  this  they  make  use  of  the  mighty 
force  of  competition.  Carried  away  by  the  desire 
to  achieve  their  ends,  they  may  enter  on  a  course 
of  actions  detrimental  to  the  welfare  of  the  public. 
It  must  be  evident,  whenever  it  reaches  this  point, 
competition  is  an  evil.  Now,  we  insist  that  the 
tendency  of  competition  is  to  bring  about  just 
such  a  state  of  affairs  as  this,  or,  better,  we  may  say 
that  is  one  side  of  the  story,  for  we  must  remember 
that  competition  is  a  force  that  can  be  used  so  as 
to  tend  toward  good  or  evil. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  dilate  on  the  beneficent 
results  of  competition.  Progress  in  nearly  every 
direction  is  due  to  competition.  Competition  is 
the  nurse,  if  not  the  parent,  of  all  the  useful  arts, 
and  it  is  the  cause  to  which  nearly  every  improve- 
ment that  has  taken  place  in  man's  lot  is  due. 
Competition  is  but  another  name  of  the  struggle 
to  either  invent  new  wants  for  men,  or  to  find  new 
and  cheaper  ways  of  satisfying  wants  already  exist- 
ing. And  this  is  the  process  on  which  civilization 
itself  depends.  Why  is  it  that  we  now  have  com- 
forts before  undreamed  of?  Because  competition 
has  been  active.  Why  is  it  that  for  a  few  cents  we 
now  have  the  doings  of  the  world  laid  before  us 
each  day  in  the  columns  of  the  paper.     The  answer 


COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION.  297 

must  again  be  competition.  One  man  or  set  of 
men  trying  to  get  ahead  of  another  set,  and  so  no 
pains  are  spared  to  get  the  news  of  the  day.  And 
so  of  all  the  wonderful  results  of  our  present  civili- 
zation. They  have  come  into  existence  not  because 
men  have  toiled  to  benefit  others,  but  because  scholars 
have  studied  and  experimented,  inventors  have  con- 
trived and  executed,  engineers  have  planned  and 
estimated — in  the  hopes  of  arriving  at  some  conclu- 
sion that  will  benefit  them  personally.  The  excep- 
tions to  this  are  so  very  few  that  they  but  prove  the 
rule.  Mankind  profits  by  these  inventions  and  dis- 
coveries, and  so  it  all  works  together  to  advance 
man  in  culture. 

We  long  for  wealth  because  it  brings  us  many 
comforts,  as  well  as  places  in  our  hands  much  real 
power.  What  we  are  thus  all  striving  after  can 
only  be  won  by  great  exertions.  The  prize  is,  how- 
ever, so  great,  that  we  devote  long  hours  of  hard 
work  and  summon  up  all  our  reserve  powers  to 
achieve  the  same.  In  response  to  this  desire,  in- 
ventions have  been  made,  improved,  and  perfected. 
In  this  desire  to  excel,  this  mad  pursuit  of  wealth, 
this  keen  competition,  we  find  the  moving  cause 
which  is  pushing  men  on  to  make  more  and  more 
wonderful  inventions,  which  is  bringing  on  the  age 
of  electricity,  which  is  slowly  solving  the  problem 
of  aerial  navigation,  which  is  learning  how  to  make 


29$  COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION. 

aluminum,  as  common  as  iron.  Now,  without  fur- 
ther consideration,  it  must  be  evident  that,  as  in 
the  case  of  mechanical  improvement  in  machinery, 
we  can  not  afford  to  adopt  any  industrial  system 
which  will  do  away  with  this  kind  of  competition. 
The  benefits  it  confers  are  so  vast  that  it  must  be 
retained. 

As  in  the  case  of  capital,  as  in  the  case  of  im- 
proved machinery,  so  now  in  the  case  of  competition 
we  find  it  is  not  the  use,  but  the  abuse,  of  competi- 
tion that  is  working  us  injury.  We  have  said  that  the 
best  interests  of  the  individual  is  not  always  the 
best  interests  of  society.  Now,  the  free  play  of 
individual  competition,  under  our  present  indus- 
trial system,  tends  to  force  men,  if  they  would  suc- 
ceed in  business,  to  lines  of  conduct  in  many  cases — 
in  nearly  all  cases,  in  fact — which  are  against  the 
best  interests  of  the  public.  Why  is  this  the  case? 
Because  a  business  must  be  conducted  according  to 
the  methods  of  the  least  conscientious,  the  most 
unscrupulous — in  short,  the  worst  men  engaged  in 
that  business.  A  few  moments  reflection  will  con- 
vince any  one  of  the  truth  of  these  remarks. 

Supposing  a  number  of  bakers  engage  in  fur- 
nishing bread  to  the  people.  If  one  begins  to 
adulterate  his  flour  or  employs  soap-suds,  alum, 
or  other  choice  ingredients  to  make  his  bread  light 
and  fluffy,  the  others  will  simply  have  to  fall  into 


COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION.  299 

his  methods  in  order  to  compete  with  him.  If  one 
dealer  commences  to  adulterate  his  pepper,  spices, 
cinnamons,  etc.,  other  dealers  must  follow  suit. 
The  consequence  is  that  all  branches  of  provisions 
are  adulterated.  The  same  is  true  of  all  branches 
of  production.  That  there  are  some  few  excep- 
tions to  the  rule  is  of  course  admitted.  In  the  com- 
mercial world,  other  things  being  equal,  it  is  cheap- 
ness which  wins  the  day.  We  are  not  going  to 
pay  twenty  or  thirty  per  cent,  more  for  clothes,  for 
instance,  to  one  merchant  than  what  they  can  be 
bought  for  of  the  man  across  the  street. 

This  being  the  case,  then,  each  man  in  any 
particular  line  of  business  must  certainly  adopt  the 
methods  of  doing  business  which  are  employed  by 
his  competitors.  These  measures  may  be  harsh  or 
oppressive  treatment  of  his  employes ;  they  may 
be  dishonest  methods  of  production ;  they  may 
countenance  misrepresentation  on  the  part  of 
salesmen,  still,  there  is  a  great,  almost  irresistible 
pressure  put  on  all  engaged  in  the  business,  no 
matter  how  much  they  may  individually  shrink 
from  so  doing,  to  adopt  these  methods.  Here, 
then,  is  the  reason  why  competition,  in  spite  of  its 
power  for  good,  which  we  have  pointed  out,  is  also 
a  power  for  evil.  The  tendency  is  to  force  all  deal- 
ings, in  any  particular  line  of  business,  to  the 
level  of  the  morally  worst  dealers  engaged  in  it. 


300  COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION. 

Individuals  are  powerless  to  effect  a  reforma- 
tion in  this  respect.  Suppose  that  nine  men  out 
of  every  ten  engaged  in  manufacturing  clearly  saw 
the  evils  of  undue  employment  of  children,  and 
stood  ready  to  give  such  wages  to  adults  as  would 
almost  dispense  with  child  labor,  and  would  enable 
their  employes  to  live  in  comfort.  Yet  they  are 
powerless  as  long  as  the  tenth  manufacturer 
has  no  scruples  of  this  kind,  and  wants  to 
crowd  wages  down  to  the  lowest  possible  level. 
Their  commodities  come  in  competition  with  his 
commodities,  and  the  purchasing  public  do  not 
stop  to  inquire  into  the  facts  of  the  case ;  in  fact, 
they  do  not  concern  themselves  about  it.  It  must 
be  clear,  without  further  argument,  that  the  effect 
of  competition  is  as  we  have  stated.  New  illustra- 
tions of  its  truth  must  occur  to  all  on  reflection. 
Its  results  are  before  us.  We  have  adulterated 
food,  shoddy  clothing,  paper  soles  in  boots  and 
shoes,  watered  milk,  and  butter  that  can  trace  no 
line  of  descent  from  a  cow.  As  is  well  known, 
labor  has  been  disastrously  affected  by  competition. 
This  is  because,  since  it  is  but  a  commodity,  the 
effort  will  be  made  to  cheapen  it.  And  thus  its 
value  has  been  forced  down.  But  to  go  over  this 
ground  would  be  but  to  re-state  the  facts  as  we 
found  them  in  preceding  chapters.  It  would  be 
simply  a  review  of  the  scenes  of  Coal  Valley ;  a 


COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION.  3OI 

further  consideration  of  the  case  of  little  children 

who  should  be  at  school   or  engaged  in    childish 

romps  instead  of  working  in  a  close  factory ;  and 

to  make  further  acquaintance  with  the  despairing 

toilers  who  are — 

"  Sewing  at  once  with  a  double  thread 
A  shroud  as  well  as  a  shirt." 

Now,  it  remains  to  be  noticed  that  capital  has 
been  benefited  by  competition  at  all  times,  both 
when  it  is  a  force  acting  for  the  good  of  mankind 
and  when  for  evil.  We  have  seen  that  the  benefi- 
cent effects  of  competition  are  due  to  the  fact  that 
it  spurs  individuals  on  to  greater  efforts,  incites 
them  to  enter  new  and  untried  fields,  and  wonder- 
fully stimulates  practical  inventions  of  all  kinds. 
Now,  in  our  chapter  on  machine  industry,  we  saw 
that  capital  reaps  a  much  greater  proportionate 
share  of  the  increased  returns  of  mechanical  inven- 
tions than  labor.  In  other  words,  material  prog- 
ress was  more  favorable  to  capital  than  it  was  to 
labor.  That  amounts,  then,  to  the  same  thing  as 
saying  that  competition,  in  respect  to  its  being  a 
force  working  for  the  good  of  mankind,  must  cer- 
tainly result  in  more  good  to  capital  than  it  does  to 
labor.  That  the  other  side  of  competition,  that  to 
which  we  have  just  alluded,  is  for  the  benefit  of 
capital,  is  so  clear  that  it  needs  no  diagram  to  illus- 
trate it.     As  a  whole,  then,  capital  has  had  no  com- 


302  COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION. 

plaint  to  make  of  competition.  Its  maxim  is  that 
"  competition  is  the  life  of  trade,"  and  the  general 
impression  is  that  all  people  have  shared  its  benefi- 
cent action.  But  still  the  greater  share  of  the  ben- 
efits it  confers  has  been  on  the  side  of  capital ;  so 
capital  has  flourished,  until,  reaching  a  more  vigor- 
ous stage  of  growth,  it  has  discovered  a  more  ex- 
cellent way,  and  so  we  are  brought  to  the  stage  of 
business  concentration  and  combination. 

It  is  useless  to  deny  that  the  whole  world  of 
business  has  tended  for  a  long  time  steadily  in  the 
direction  of  concentration.  We  have  already  no- 
ticed the  growth  of  large  sized  farms  as  compared 
with  small  ones.  If  we  compare  the  census  years 
of  i860  and  1880,  we  notice  the  following  table: 

i860.  1880. 

Number  employed  in  the  average  estab- 
lishment in  the  U.  S 9  10 

Capital  invested  in  the  average  establish- 
ment   $7,192         $10,991 

Value  of  manufactured  products  of  the 

average  establishment $i3>428        $21,152 

As  to  the  number  of  men  employed,  we  must 
remember  that,  owing  to  the  improvement  in  ma- 
chinery, the  ten  men  of  1880  represent  about  the 
work  of  twenty  men  in  i860.  The  table  shows 
the  unmistakable  tendency  of  capital  to  concen- 
trate. We  have  no  means  of  determining  the  facts 
of  the  case,  but  we  have  little  doubt  that  the  num- 


COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION.  303 

ber  of  large  establishments,  employing  Hundreds 
of  men,  representing  a  vast  amount  of  capital, 
have  increased  very  much  faster  than  the  number  of 
small  establishments.  This  would  be  but  the 
counterpart  in  the  industrial  world  of  the  growth 
of  large  farms  in  the  agricultural  world. 

This  process  of  concentration  has  been  work- 
ing ever  since  the  modern  industrial  age  began. 
A  recent  writer  sums  up  the  process  as  follows  : 
"  The  present  century  has  seen  three  great  eco- 
nomic wonders  accomplished :  The  invention  of 
labor-saving  machinery,  greatly  multiplying  the 
efficiency  of  labor  in  every  art  and  trade ;  the  ap- 
plication of  steam  power  to  the  propulsion  of  ma- 
chinery ;  and  the  extension  over  all  civilized  lands 
of  a  net-work  of  railway  lines,  furnishing  a  rapid, 
safe,  and  miraculously  cheap  means  of  transporta- 
tion to  every  part  of  the  civilized  world.  In 
order  to  realize  the  greatest  benefit  from  these  de- 
vices, it  has  become  necessary  to  concentrate  our 
manufacturing  operations  in  enormous  factories ; 
to  collect  under  one  roof  a  thousand  workmen,  in- 
crease their  efficiency  tenfold  by  the  use  of  modern 
machinery,  and  distribute  the  products  of  their 
labor  to  the  markets  of  the  civilized  world.  The 
agency  which  has  operated  to  bring  about  this  re- 
sult is  competition.  The  large  workshops  were 
able  to  make  goods  so  much  cheaper  than  the  small 


304  COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION. 

workshops  that  the  latter  disappeared.  Then  one 
by  one  the  large  workshops  were  built  up  into  fac- 
tories or  were  shut  up  because  the  factories  could 
make  goods  at  less  cost.  So  the  growth  has  gone . 
on,  and  each  advance  in  carrying  on  production  on 
a  large  scale  has  resulted  in  lessening  the  cost  of 
the  finished  goods." 

So  far  as  only  natural  results  are  at  work,  it 
would  seem  as  if  by  this  cause  alone  the  time 
would  come  when  there  would  be  comparatively 
few  giant  concerns  engaged  in  manufacturing.  No 
one  can  doubt  that  the  larger  the  scale  on  which 
operations  are  carried  on,  the  cheaper  becomes  the 
cost  of  production.  The  reverse  of  this  picture 
certainly  is  the  sharper  division  of  the  people  into 
a  relatively  small  number  of  rich  people  on  the  one 
side,  and  a  large  number  of  struggling  poor  on  the 
other.  But  nowadays  capital  seems  determined  by 
a  series  of  vigorous  movements  to  anticipate  that 
stage  of  events.  In  short,  it  proposes,  by  combi- 
nation in  the  various  lines  of  production,  to  do 
away  with  the  evils  of  competition  among  them- 
selves. 

In  considering  the  nature  and  tendency  of 
competition,  while  describing  it  as  a  force  capable 
of  doing  a  great  deal  of  good  or  of  ill,  we  have 
not,  as  yet,  described  it  as  it  is  in  truth — a  struggle 
for  existence,  in  which,  in  the  midst  of  much  suffer- 


COMPETITION   AND    COMBINATION.  305 

ing,  the  weaker  participants  must  go  to  the  wall. 
And  this  contest  is  accompanied  by  much  waste  and 
needless  expense.  It  is  certain  that  if  five  men 
are  manufacturing  for  a  certain  market,  which  can 
buy  only  goods  enough  to  support  four  men,  one  of 
these  five  will,  in  course  of  time,  have  to  succumb. 
But  before  he  gives  up  the  fight  he  is  going  to 
resort  to  a  great  many  ways  to  try  and  sustain  him- 
self. The  laborers  employed  will  have  to  bear  the 
burden  of  a  part  of  this  struggle,  for  he  will  reduce 
their  wages  as  low  as  possible ;  and,  remember,  this 
means  a  reduction  on  the  part  of  all  his  competi- 
tors also.  The  public  will  have  to  bear  a  part  of 
this  burden,  for  he  will,  in  many  ways,  lower  the 
standard  of  his  goods,  especially  if  he  thinks  it  is 
in  some  respect  in  which  he  will  not  be  found  out. 
He  then  will  go  to  a  great  deal  of  expense  in  the 
way  of  booming  his  goods.  In  all  these  move- 
ments his  competitors  must  follow  suit.  So  this 
wai  entails  burdens  on  all  classes. 

Capital  understands  the  condition  of  things 
exactly.  And  so,  just  as  society  is  getting  ready 
to  witness  a  war  of  giants,  there  is  a  sudden  change 
of  front.  Those  engaged  in  any  business — refin- 
ing sugar,  for  example — are  filled  with  a  feeling  of 
brotherly  regard.  They  proceed  to  "get  together" 
and  talk  the  situation  over.  "What  is  the  use," 
says   one,    "  of  this   fight  ?      Why   not   save   this 


306  COMPETITION   AND    COMBINATION. 

expense — come  to  some  terms  among  ourselves? 
The  people  will  Have  to  have  sugar  anyway.  We 
might  just  as  well  save  expense  and  divide  the 
profits."  "  Just  so,"  exclaims  another  of  the  sharp- 
witted  men  present.  "  Besides,  gentlemen,  really 
it  is  extraordinary  we  did  not  think  of  this  before. 
If  we  only  won't  fight  each  other,  we  can  put  the 
price  of  sugar  at  such  a  figure  that  it  will  afford  us 
all  a  good  living."  "  But,"  declares  another,  "  it 
is  easy  for  us  to  agree,  perhaps ;  but  no  sooner  will 
we  get  nicely  agoing  than  others,  seeing  how  pros- 
perously we  are  getting  on,  will  start  up  other  re- 
fineries, and  we  will  be  just  as  badly  off." 

Then  the  first  speaker  explains  that  but  few 
can  start  in  the  business  anyway,  owing  to  the 
large  amount  of  capital  necessary  to  invest ;  "  and, 
besides,  united  we  will  have  such  an  enormous 
amount  of  capital  we  can,  if  necessary,  break  him. 
We  can  put  the  price  of  sugar,  if  necessary,  so  low 
that  he  can  not  stand  it ;  that  need  not  bother  us 
any."  Further  consideration  makes  it  clear  to 
them  how  they  can  reasonably  explain  to  the  pub- 
lic that  an  enormous  saving  will  be  made  in  oper- 
ating expenses,  and  so  a  trust  is  formed.  Compe- 
tition is  relegated  to  the  rear.  A  new-  stage  in 
capitalist  production  is  reached.  "  United  we 
stand  "  is  to  be  the  future  maxim.  The  benefits  of 
this  new  plan  are  so  apparent,  as  far  as  capital  is 


COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION.  307 

concerned,  that  nearly  all  available  lines  of  produc- 
tion have  now  adopted  it,  though  the  trust  is  only 
two  decades  old. 

In  a  formal  trust  the  different  firms  or  compa- 
nies who  have  been  competing  with  each  other  in 
the  production  and   sale   of  goods  agree   to   place 
the  management  of  their  several  properties  in  the 
hands  of  a  board  of  trustees.     The  powers  of  this 
board    vary.      As  every    one   knows,   the   first   of 
these  modern  trusts  was  the   Standard  Oil  Trust. 
It  has  been  remarkably  successful.     This  was  fol" 
lowed  by  the  Cotton  Oil  Trust.     But  the  benefits 
of  combination  are  so  great   that  many  forms  of 
association  have  been   formed  where  the  principal 
trusts  prevail,  but  no  formal  trust  is  made.     Some 
of  the  more  prominent  of  these  trusts,  and  combi- 
nations   resembling    trusts,    are    sugar,    oat-meal, 
straw-board,   paper,    school   books,   linseed  oil,   oil 
cloth,    many    forms    of  iron    manufacturing,   lead, 
white  lead,  jute  bagging,   binding  twine,  whisky, 
salt,  patent  leather,  and   flour.     Our  railroads  are 
feeling  their  way  toward  some  feasible  scheme  on 
which  they  can  all  unite.     Coal,  iron,  and  lumber 
are  already  partially  organized. 

It  is  a  species  of  cheap  demagoguery  to  con- 
demn off-hand  the  formation  of  trusts.  They  are 
the  natural  result  of  industrial  progress  of  the  last 
century.     Edward  Bellamy  says  of  the  trust:  "  It 

19 


308  COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION. 

is  a  result  of  the  increase  in  the  efficiency  of  cap- 
ital in  great  masses,  consequent  upon  the  inven- 
tions of  the  last  and  present  generations.  In 
former  epochs  the  size  and  scope  of  business  enter- 
prises were  subject  to  natural  restrictions.  There 
were  limits  to  the  amount  of  capital  that  could  be 
used  to  advantage  by  one  management.  To-day 
there  are  no  limits,  save  the  earth's  confines,  to 
the  scope  of  any  business  undertaking;  and  not 
only  no  limits  to  the  amount  of  capital  that  can  be 
used  by  one  concern,  but  an  increase  in  the  effi- 
ciency and  security  of  the  business  proportionate 
to  the  amount  of  capital  in  it.  The  economies  in 
management  resulting  from  consolidations,  as  well 
as  the  control  over  the  market  resulting  from  the 
monopoly  of  a  staple,  are  also  solid  business  reasons 
for  the  advent  of  the  trust." 

We  are  apt  to  overlook  the  fact  that  considera- 
ble can  be  said  about  the  "  solid  business  reasons  " 
for  the  formation  of  a  trust.  By  managing  all  the 
works  in  a  trust  as  if  they  formed  but  one  prop- 
erty an  enormous  saving  in  expense  .is  made. 
Only  the  best  equipped  mills  and  those  most  ad- 
vantageously situated  are  kept  running.  The  trust 
can  afford  to  carry  its  own  fire  insurance.  And 
they  can  buy  the  latest  and  most  improved  mechan- 
ical inventions.  The  immense  packing  houses  in 
Chicago  claim  that  their  profits  are  made  from  the 


COMPETITION    AND    COMBINATION.  309 

• 

manufacture  of  products  which  go  to  waste  in 
establishments  where  less  capital  is  employed,  and 
hence  the  business  of  preparing  meat  for  consump- 
tion is  done  for  the  public  at  actual  cost.  The 
Standard  Oil  Company  offered  to  prove  before  a 
committee  in  Congress,  in  1888,  that  by  the  enor- 
mous wholesale  business  they  were  carrying  on  in 
oil,  and  consequent  cheapening  in  handling,  the 
building  of  pipe  lines,  tanks,  cars,  etc.,  they  were 
enabled  to  sell  oil  at  prices  which  saved  the  genera! 
public  $100,000,000  a  year  that  it  would  undoubt- 
edly be  compelled  to  pay  if  their  system  was  not  in 
use.  Whatever  truth  or  falsity  there  may  be  in  these 
figures,  the  principle  is  certainly  sound.  As  Prof. 
Bly  expresses  it,  "  Production  on  the  largest  possi- 
ble scale  will  be  the  only  practical  mode  of  produc- 
tion in  the  near  future." 

So,  from  every  source,  the  movement  looking 
to  the  formation  of  trusts  gathers  strength. 
"  Except  in  a  few  obscure  corners  of  the  business 
world  there  is  at  present  no  opportunity  for  indi- 
viduals to  take  the  initiative  in  business  unless 
backed  by  a  large  capital,  and  the  size  of  the  cap- 
ital needed  is  rapidly  increasing.  Meanwhile,  the 
same  increase  in  the  efficiency  of  capital  in  masses, 
which  has  destroyed  the  small  business,  has  reduced 
the  giants  which  have  destroyed  them  to  the  neces- 
sity of  making  terms  with  one  another.     *     *     * 


3IO  COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION. 

« 

The  first  group  of  business  enterprises  which 
adopted  the  principle  of  combining,  instead  of 
competing,  made  it  necessary  for  every  other  group, 
sooner  or  later,  to  do  the  same  or  perish.  For  as 
the  corporation  is  more  powerful  than  the  individ- 
ual, so  the  syndicate  overtops  the  corporation.  The 
action  of  governments  to  check  this  logical  neces- 
sity of  economical  evolution  can  produce  nothing 
more  than  eddies  in  a  current,  which  nothing  can 
check.  Bvery  week  sees  some  new  tract  of  what 
was  once  the  great  open  sea  of  competition,  wherein 
merchant  adventurers  used  to  fare  forth  with  little 
capital  besides  their  courage  and  come  home  loaded. 
Bvery  week  some  new  tract  of  this  once  open  sea  is 
inclosed,  dammed  up,  and  turned  into  the  private 
fish  pond  of  a  syndicate." 

And  so  trusts  or  combinations  of  various  kinds 
have  apparently  come  to  stay.  The  many  "  solid 
business  reasons  "  that  can  be  given  for  them,  how- 
ever, mostly  redound  to  the  benefit  of  the  trust, 
and  not  the  consumer.  Or,  perhaps,  it  would  be 
more  just  to  say  that  the  consumers  by  no  means 
receive  their  proportionate  share  of  the  benefits. 
But  we  may  be  perfectly  sure  that  in  the  new  order 
of  events  capital  will  take  advantage  of  every 
opportunity  it  can  with  safety  take  to  get  as  great 
returns  as  possible.  And  the  far-reaching  effects 
of  this  action  are  very  great.     Mr.  Baker,  in  his 


COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION.  311 

work  on  "  Monopolies  and  the  People,"  analyzes 
the  effect  of  the  Linseed  Oil  Trust,  formed  in  1887. 
It  seems  that  the  price  of  oil  previous  to  the  for- 
mation of  the  trust  was  thirty-eight  cents  a  gallon. 
It  is  claimed  that  at  this  rate  there  was  abso- 
lutely no  profit  in  the  transaction.  It  is  clear  that 
when  the  trust  saved  the  enormous  expense  incident 
to  competition,  and  the  price  of  oil  was  advanced 
fifteen  cents  a  gallon,  the  trust  could  realize  a 
handsome  profit.  It  is  estimated  that  30,000,000 
gallons  of  linseed  oil  were  used  by  the  people. 
Here,  then,  is  a  clear  profit  of  at  least  four  million 
and  a  half  dollars. 

The  consumers,  the  people  generally,  do  not 
seem  to  have  been  benefited  particularly,  in  this 
specific  example,  at  any  rate.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  note  the  far-reaching  effects.  The  raise  in 
price  was  not  so  very  great,  yet  it  was  sufficient  to 
check  the  consumption  of  oil  very  materially.  So 
a  number  of  the  mills  belonging  to  the  trust  were 
shut  down,  consequently  a  large  number  of  work- 
men thrown  out  of  employment.  But  linseed  oil 
is  used  in  painting.  A  vast  number  of  people 
could  not  afford  to  paint  their  houses,  owing  to  the 
increased  price  of  oil;  hence  all  those  people 
engaged  in  painting  or  manufacturing  paints  suf- 
fered in  consequence.  Not  so  much  flax  was  needed 
to  be  raised  to  produce  the  oil,  so  farmers  suffered. 


312  COMPETITION  AND   COMBINATION. 

Such  is  the  mutual  dependence  of  all  people  in 
society  that  a  trust  of  this  nature  is  able  to  levy  a 
tax  on  us  all.  If  trusts  were  content  to  take  only 
the  natural  advantages  of  this  new  method  of 
work — that  is  to  say,  be  content  with  the  great 
saving  in  expense  and  with  the  lessened  cost  of 
production,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  production  is 
on  a  vastly  greater  scale — there  would  not  be  so 
much  room  for  complaint.  But  the  temptation  is 
almost  irresistible  to  take  advantage  of  the  monop- 
oly in  their  hands  to  raise  the  price  all  the  public 
will  stand. 

So  few  people  realize  that  combinations  of  this 
kind,  for  the  suppression  of  competition,  is  the  in- 
evitable result  of  our  present  system,  the  stage  of 
evolution  next  to  be  reached,  that  they  think  all 
that  it  is  necessary  to  do  is  to  have  the  law-making 
power  pass  a  few  laws  to  kill  the  whole  movement. 
Or  they  may  suppose  a  change  in  the  present  laws 
will  suffice  as  a  change  in  the  tariff  laws  in  this 
country.  It  is,  perhaps,  sufficient  to  say  that  all 
legislative  actions  of  this  scope  can  at  best  have 
but  a  temporary  effect.  Progress  will  always  take 
place  along  the  lines  of  least  resistance.  The 
expense  in  production  is  so  much  less,  the  margin 
of  profit  so  much  larger,  that  it  would  be  as  great 
a  step  backwards  to  return  to  the  old  way  as  to 
banish  the  use  of  improved  machinery.     Equally 


COMPETITION   AND    COMBINATION.  313 

as  futile  is  it  to  disclaim  against  the  individuals 
managing  the  combination.  We  might  with  equal 
reason  cry  out  against  the  manufacturer  who  pro- 
poses to  use  improved  machinery.  They  must 
either  adopt  these  tactics  or  go  to  the  wall. 

It  is  so  important  to  see  that  every  force  of 
modern  industry  is  hurrying  on  the  coming  era  in 
which  competition  is  to  be  done  away  with  that  it 
will  pay  us  to  give  this  point  earnest  attention, 
It  is  evident  that  it  is  easier  for  two  people -to 
come  to  some  understanding  with  each  other  about 
business,  make  some  arrangement  to  work  for  their 
common  interest,  than  it  would  be  for  one  hundred 
or  one  thousand.  In  other  words,  the  fewer  the 
people  there  are  competing,  the  easier  for  them  to 
make  a  combination.  Now,  it  is  evident,  on  fur- 
ther consideration,  that  many  causes  are  at  work  to 
reduce  the  number  of  people  who  would  naturally 
compete  with  each  other.  In  the  first  place,  more 
capital  is  required  than  formerly.  This  is  largely 
owing  to  the  improvement  in  machinery  and  tech- 
nical processes.  Relatively,  then,  the  number  of 
people  who  compete  tend  to  diminish.  The  mere 
fact  that  the  larger  the  scale  on  which  production 
is  carried  forward,  the  greater  the  relative  cheap- 
ness of  the  process,  works  with  almost  resistless 
force  in  this  direction. 

It  is  also  clear  that  as  competition  grows  more 


3I4  COMPETITION   AND   COMBINATION. 

intense,  and  consequently  more  wasteful,  combina- 
tions  will  be  formed  to  stop  this  evil.  The  instinct 
of  self-preservation  will  suffice  in  this  instance. 
Now  it  is  evident  competition  becomes  more  bitter 
as  the  number  competing  grows  less.  If  but  two 
men  are  engaged  in  a  certain  business,  and  make 
up  their  minds  to  fight  each  other,  the  competition 
will  be  more  intense,  bitter,  and  wasteful  than  if  a 
thousand  men  are  competing  for  the  business. 
Also  the  greater  the  amount  of  capital  invested,  the 
more  bitter  will  grow  the  fight.  Competition  be- 
tween railroads  is  simply  suicidal.  The  amount  of 
capital  invested  is  so  great  that  they  stop  at  no 
limits  in  their  fights.  Concerns  with  but  a  few 
thousands  invested  will  draw  the  line  when  it  comes 
to  doing  business  at  a  loss.  Where  millions  are 
invested  the  real  fight  is  only  just  begun  when 
that  point  is  reached. 

On  reflection,  then,  we  see  that  the  whole  tend- 
ency of  advancing  culture  not  only  makes  it  easier 
for  combinations  to  take  place,  but  is  actually  forc- 
ing the  movement  forward.  Study  the  problem  in 
any  light  you  please,  and  the  conclusion  is  the 
same.  Competition  has  served  its  day.  Combina- 
tion is  the  watch-word  of  the  present.  Every  one 
knows  that  we  have  not  overstated  the  case.  Every 
one  knows  that  combination  of  some  sort  has  been 
formed  in  nearly  every  avenue  of  trade.  Indeed,  lines 


COMPETITION   AND    COMBINATION.  315 

of  industry  which  but  a  few  years  ago  could  not  be 
controlled  by  trusts  are  now  about  perfecting  some 
sort  of  a  combination.  In  the  case  of  railroads  we 
have  witnessed  a  growth  of  great  systems,  a  recent 
feature,  and  yet  the  roads  have  been  forced  to  take 
this  step.  ,  The  Interstate  Commerce  Law,  which 
was  intended  to  keep  alive  competition  among  rail- 
roads, is,  on  the  contrary,  rapidly  pushing  forward 
the  cause  of  combination.  Eminent  railroad  men 
are  now  laying  plans  for  uniting  all  the  railroads 
of  the  country  under  one  management.  The  coal 
industry  in  this  country  is  rapidly  passing  into  the 
hands  of  a  few  large  concerns,  such  as  the  St. 
Louis  Consolidated  Coal  Company,  which  virtually 
controls  the  coal  trade  of  Southern  Illinois,  con- 
trolling seventy-one  mines. 

To  show  how  keenly  alert  capital  is  to  seize 
on  any  field  which  can  be  thus  controlled,  we  will 
cite  an  incident  in  the  iron  ore  trade.  As  every 
one  knows,  Bessemer  steel  is  one  of  the  latest  sci- 
entific triumphs.  It  has  largely  displaced  wrought 
iron.  In  the  manufacture  of  that  steel  it  is  neces- 
sary to  use  an  iron  ore  of  a  peculiar  chemical  com- 
position. Now,  this  ore  is  found  in  great  abun- 
dance in  the  mines  north  of  the  Vermilion  range, 
about  100  miles  north  of  Duluth,  Minnesota,  and 
in  the  mines  of  the  Northern  Peninsula  of  Michi- 
igan.     But  no  sooner  was  this  fact  determined  than 


316  competition  and  combination* 

a  combination  was  formed  of  the  mines  in  that  sec- 
tion, and  the  highest  price  is  charged  for  the  ore 
which  can  be  obtained  without  driving  the  cus- 
tomer to  more  distant  markets  for  his  supply. 
Some  of  these  mines  have  paid  as  high  as  ninety 
per  cent,  on  the  capital  stock,  which  is  watered  to 
begin  with. 

Beginning  with  the  producers  of  staples,  such 
as  sugar,  the  combination  plan  tends  to  grow 
broader  and  broader  in  its  scope.  For  instance,  in 
Canada  we  have  the  Wholesale  Grocers'  Guild, 
which  embraces  nearly  all  of  the  wholesale  grocers, 
enables  its  members  to  buy  such  staples  as  sugar, 
starch,  baking  powder,  and  tobacco  cheaper  than 
outside  parties  can.  It  fixes  the  price  which  retail 
dealers  are  to  charge  in  their  turn,  so  that  in  effec' 
all  the  grocers  in  Canada  are  brought  into  a  trust. 
So  in  New  York  there  are  two  associations  of 
wholesale  grocers  who  seek  by  similar  means  to 
regulate  the  retail  trade.  In  a  similar  way  we 
have  in  some  of  the  Western  States  business 
men's  associations,  which  propose  to  regulate  the 
retail  trade  of  the  State. 

To  show  how  rapidly  this  principle  spreads, 
we  need  only  to  say  that  in  a  recent  work  on  Mo- 
nopolies and  Trusts  it  was  deemed  impossible  that 
the  agricultural  interests  of  this  country  could 
ever  be  organized  in  a  trust,  the  motto,  almost,  of 


COMPETITION    AND   COMBINATION.  317 

the  farmers'  movement  being  "  down  with  the 
trust."  Yet  we  now  read  of  the  proposed  forma- 
tion of  a  huge  alliance  trust,  embracing  the  alli- 
ance members  of  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Missouri,  and 
Iowa,  who  propose  to  regulate  the  grain  and  beef 
industry.  This  is  by  far  the  wisest  course  to  pur- 
sue. Combinations  are  the  necessity  of  the  day. 
Why  not  take  advantage  of  them? 

This  chapter  could,  of  course,  be  prolonged  to 
great  length,  but  the  main  points  we  wish  to  bring 
out  have  now  been  fully  stated.  We  have  tried  to 
be  candid,  and  have  made  no  statement  unsupported 
by  facts.  We  have  tried  to  show  that  competition 
is  largely  a  thing  of  the  past.  Every  force  of  our 
industrial  life  is  hurrying  on  the  age  of  combina- 
tion. It  is  useless  to  try  and  stop  the  current. 
What  we  must  do  is  in  some  way  make  it  work  for 
the  good  of  all.  We  need  never  despair  of  being 
able  to  accomplish  such  a  result  as  this.  In  our 
historical  review  we  saw  that  society  had  made  sev- 
eral changes  in  the  past  to  escape  the  evils  of  the 
time.  We  need  not  doubt  that  some  way  will  be 
found  to  overcome  the  evils  of  combination.  Then 
we  have  little  doubt  that  civilization  will  move  on 
in  a  higher  plane.  Progress  will  be  even  more 
rapid  ;  education  will  be  more  general ;  comforts, 
and  the  means  of  satisfying  them,  more  abundant. 


318  RESULTS. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

RESULTS. 

Test  of  preceding  statements — The  wealth  of  Great  Britain — 
Table — Darkest  England — Contrast  with  richest  England — The  work- 
ing of  this  system  in  the  United  States — Difference  in  our  condition — 
Examples  of  great  wealth — Table  of  results — Conclusion  to  be  drawn 
— Congestion  of  wealth  increasing — Great  fortunes  a  menace  to  our 
national  prosperity — The  general  tendency  of  our  present  industrial 
system — Parallel  between  our  present  development  and  Villanage — 
Quotations  from  Danisthorpe — Words  of  warning — Hope  for  the 
future — Who  are  interested  in  this  matter — The  moral  side  of  the 
question. 

PRESENT  industrial  system  has 
been  in  existence  but  a  short 
time.  Slowly  gathering  strength, 
it  seized  on  the  use  of  steam  and  entered 
on  a  new  stage  of  development.  Since 
then  not  only  has  the  amount  of  capital 
in  the  world  grown  at  an  enormous  rate,  but  at  the 
same  time  its  power  has  increased  at  a  nearly 
equal  pace.  We  have  asserted  that  the  irresistible 
tendency  of  progress,  as  at  present  conducted,  is  to 
concentrate  wealth  in  the  hands  of  but  a  few  peo- 
ple— that  is,  as  compared  to  the  great  mass — and  the 
consequent  ever  increasing  gulf  between  the  rich 
and  the  poor.     Now,  before  passing  on  to  consider 


RARON    ROTHCHILD. 


3i9 


RESULTS.  321 

steps  that  must  be  taken  to  remedy  this,  perhaps  it 
would  be  well  to  take  a  more  careful  survey  of  our 
present  surroundings  to  see  if  we  have  really  ex- 
perienced the  evils  that,  according  to  theory,  ought 
to  befall  us.  If  so,  to  what  extent  are  we  already 
involved  ?  If  on  the  other  hand,  an  examination 
discloses  no  such  state  of  affairs  as  we  have  said 
must  follow,  why,  then,  our  fears  are  unfounded. 
Let  us  not  concern  ourselves  any  longer  with  this 
vexatious  problem.  Everything  is  moving  on  in 
the  best  way  for  it  to  go.  So  then,  first  let  us 
inquire  is  it  true  that  wealth  and  poverty  are  both 
increasing  ?  Is  it  true,  and  will  figures  show,  that 
our  present  civilization  means  that  for  every  one  of 
the  enormously  wealthy  men  we  see  around  us  there 
is  a  multitude  of  "genteelly  poor,"  and  a  numer- 
ous host  of  poverty-stricken  individuals  ? 

Great  Britain  may  be  taken  as  the  very  best 
example  of  a  manufacturing  nation.  She  manu- 
factures for  the  world.  She  imports  the  larger 
part  of  her  food  supply  and  the  greater  part  of 
her  raw  material — save,  of  course,  coal  and  iron. 
Some  wonderful  figures  can  be  gathered  as  to  her 
national  wealth,  and  the  extent  of  her  manufacturing 
and  commercial  interests.  Her  shipping  inter- 
ests are  enormous.  Her  flag  is  a  familiar  visitor 
in  every  harbor.  Her  ships  are  to  be  met  with 
on  every  sea.     We  can  scarcely  comprehend  the 


322  RESULTS. 

volume  of  her  trade.  The  commercial  supremacy 
of  Great  Britain  was  laid  on  an  enduring  founda- 
tion early  in  the  eighteenth  century  by  the  cele- 
brated Bast  India  Company,  but  it  went  ahead 
with  a  sudden  bound  when  the  manufacturing  era 
was  fairly  opened. 

As  a  result  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  wealth 
concentrated  in  England,  and  especially  in  Lon- 
don. It  has  accumulated  at  an  enormous  rate 
during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  and  bids  fair 
to  do  this  at  an  accelerated  rate  in  the  future. 
England  as  a  nation  has  reached  that  stage  in  her 
accumulation  of  capital  where  she  can  not  begin  to 
spend  her  income.  The  whole  commercial  world  is 
literally  mortgaged,  pledged  in  pawn  to  England — 
not  to  the  nation,  but  to  English  capitalists.  The 
very  corners  of  the  earth  are  ransacked  to  find  a 
field  of  investment ;  not  of  the  principal,  but  of 
the  yearly  and  ever  increasing  income  of  English 
capital.  Hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  have 
been  invested  in  South  America,  other  hundreds  in 
this  country.  Any  meritorious  scheme  can  secure 
capital  to  back  it  in  London.  If  a  new  railroad  is 
to  be  built,  the  capital  can  be  raised  in  London, 
provided  it  is  deemed  a  safe  investment.  Bonds  of 
all  classes,  provided  they  are  good,  can  be  floated 
in  London.  An  unlimited  amount  of  money  can 
be  raised  to  buy  up  flourishing  breweries.      Coal 


RESULTS.  323 

lands,  iron  foundries,  great  and  successful  manu- 
facturing establishments  are  eagerly  bought  up  by- 
syndicates  of  British  capitalists.  What  is  true  of 
the  United  States  is  true  of  Mexico  and  all  the 
countries  of  South  America.  Egypt  is  securely  in 
the  grasp  of  the  British  money  lenders,  and  so  is 
India. 

What  the  end  is  to  be  can  not  be  a  matter  of 
doubt  if  we  allow  things  to  go  on.  Many  of  the 
great  trusts  and  syndicates  that  we  spoke  of  in  the 
preceding  capter  are  largely  foreign.  Says  Bdward 
Bellamy:  "Our  new  industrial  lords  are  largely  to 
be  absentees.  The  British  are  invading  the  United 
States  in  these  days  with  a  success  brilliantly  in 
contrast  with  their  former  failures  in  that  line.  It 
is  no  wonder,  in  these  days  when  .the  political  basis 
of  aristocracy  is  going  to  pieces,  that  foreign  capi- 
talists should  rush  into  a  market  where  industrial 
dukedoms,  marquisates,  and  baronies  richer  than 
ever  a  king  distributed  to  his  favorites  are  for  sale. 
To  say  that  from  the  present  look  of  things  the 
substantial  consolidation  of  the  various  groups  of 
industries  in  the  country  under  a  few  score  of 
great  syndicates  is  likely  to  be  complete  within 
fifteen  years,  is  certainly  not  to  venture  a  wholly 
rash  prediction." 

So  much  for  the  material  wealth  and  prosperity 
of  England.      That   wealth    has   increased    enor- 


3*4    -  RESULTS. 

mously  there  can  be  no  doubt.  It  Has  also  become 
greatly  concentrated.  There  are  some  very  rich 
individuals,  the  Duke  of  Westminster  with  about 
$50,000,000,  being  the  most  wealthy.  Mudhall 
estimates  the  distribution  of  wealth  to  be  as 
follows : 

There  are  222,500  families  whose  average  wealth  is..$i25,i45 
There  are  1,824,400  families  whose  average  wealth  is..  4,872 
There  are  4,629,100  families  whose  average  wealth  is..  413 

This  table  has  quite  a  comfortable  look.  It 
means,  however,  that  one-thirtieth  part  of  the  pop- 
ulation of  Great  Britain  owns  about  two-thirds  of 
the  national  wealth.  And  just  as  the  first  item 
tells  us  nothing  of  the  enormous  wealth  of  some 
of  the  nobility,  so  the  last  item  gives  us  no  idea  of 
the  extreme  poverty  of  a  vast  number  of  people. 
One  of  the  noblest  Englishmen  that  ever  lived, 
General  Booth,  has  lately  given  us  an  idea  of  what 
"  Darkest  England"  really  is.  It  affords  a  most 
somber  background  for  the  brilliant  picture  of 
"  Richest  England."  There  are  100,000  people  in 
England  who  are  homeless — have  absolutely  no 
home  they  can  call  their  own.  In  London  alone 
300,000  people  are  described  as  starving  ;  222,000 
are  next  door  to  starvation,  and  nearly  400,000  are 
said  to  be  wretchedly  poor — that  is,  they  can  but 
barely  get  enough  to  keep  soul  and  body  together. 
In  all,  it  is  estimated  that  300,000   men,  women, 


RESULTS.  325 

and  children,  one-tenth  of  the  total  population  of 
Great  Britain,  or  a  total  population  about  the  equal 
of  Scotland,  is  living  in  the  deepest  distress  for 
the  barest  necessities  of  life.  A  vast  despairing 
multitude  in  a  condition  nominally  free,  but  really 
enslaved.  This,  too,  in  a  country  where  the  income 
of  the  wealthy  classes  is  so  very  large  that  only  a 
portion  of  it  can  be  spent.  The  rest  is  sent  hither 
and  thither  to  find  an  investment. 

Here  is  contrast  enough  surely.  London  so 
wealthy  that  it  is  supplying  capital  to  the  world ;  but 
alongside  of  luxurious  London,  with  its  massive 
houses  and  princely  palaces,  we  have  also  poverty- 
stricken  London.  Speaking  of  the  homeless  poor 
to  be  found  spending  the  night  out  of  doors  in 
London,  the  officer  reports:  "Here  between  the 
Temple  and  Blackfriars  I  found  the  poor  wretches 
by  the  score.  Almost  every  seat  contained  its  full 
complement  of  six,  all  reclining  in  various  postures, 
and  nearly  all  fast  asleep.  The  moon,  flashing 
across  the  Thames  and  lighting  up  the  stone  work 
of  the  embankment,  brings  into  relief  a  pitiful 
spectacle.  Here  on  the  stone  abutments,  which 
afford  a  slight  protection  from  the  biting  wind,  are 
scores  of  men  lying  side  by  side,  huddled  together 
for  warmth,  and,  of  course,  without  any  other  cov- 
ering than  their  ordinary  covering,  which  is  scanty 
enough  at  best.     Some  have  laid  down  a  few  pieces 

20 


326  RESULTS. 

of  waste  paper  by  the  way  of  taking  the  chill  off 
the  stones ;  but  the  majority  are  too  tired  even 
for  that,  and  the  nightly  toilet  of  most  consists  of 
first  removing  the  hat,  swathing  the  head  in  what- 
ever old  rag  may  be  doing  duty  as  a  handkerchief, 
and  then  replacing  the  hat."  General  Booth  sug- 
gests that  as  they  have  in  London  a  Lord  Mayor's 
Day,  when  all  the  well-fed,  fur-clad  city  fathers  go 
in  stage-coaches  through  the  town,  why  not  have  a 
Lazarus  Day,  in  which  the  starving  out-of-works 
and  the  sweated,  half  starved  "  in-works  "  of  Lon- 
don should  crawl  in  their  tattered  raggedness,  with 
their  gaunt,  hungry  faces,  and  emaciated  wives  and 
children,  a  Procession  of  Despair  through  the  main 
thoroughfares,  past  the  massive  houses  and  palaces 
of  luxurious  London? 

It  is  not  our  object  to  picture  forth  the  horrors 
of  London  poverty.  We  only  want  to  furnish  a 
companion  picture  for  the  wealth  of  England.  Now, 
five  hundred  years  ago  such  a  condition  of  things  as 
we  have  described  was  unknown.  It  must  have 
come  into  existence  because  the  industrial  system 
on  which  we  were  then  entering  was  favorable  to 
it.  We  have  spent  some  time  in  examining  the 
working  of  this  system,  and  have  pointed  out  that 
just  such  consequences  must  follow  whenever  capi- 
tal and  labor  were  divided,  and  labor  became  a  mere 
commodity.     History  and  theory  here  unite.     Let 


RESULTS.  327 

us  see  if  the  same  results  follow  in  the  United 
States. 

It  must,  of  course,  be  evident  that  any  great 
change  in  the  condition  of  the  mass  of  our  people 
could  only  recently  iiave  shown  itself.  The  whole 
history  of  what  is  now  the  United  States  is  contracted 
within  the  span  of  less  than  three  centuries.  And 
even  as  brief  a  time  as  one  hundred  years  ago  by 
far  the  larger  portion  of  what  is  now  the  United 
States  was  in  reality  an  unknown  country.  No 
nation  has  ever  previously  grown  at  our  rate  of 
growth.  We  are  now  a  nation  of  nearly  sixty-five 
million  inhabitants.  Our  mining  and  manufactur- 
ing interests  are  well  developed.  Population  has 
increased  many  fold.  Our  agricultural  interests 
have  grown  with  the  growth  of  the  country. 

It  will  be  readily  admitted  that  the  capitalist 
system,  if  in  any  case  an  advantage  to  a  country, 
it  must  be  especially  so  when  the  country  is  new. 
Its  evil  effects  will  come  more  clearly  into  view  as 
the  country  fills  up.  When  its  land  is  all  taken  up, 
manufactories  well  developed,  and  every  avenue  of 
business  activity  full,  then  its  pressure  will  be- 
gin to  be  felt;  then  the  division  into  classes  will 
begin  to  appear.  Now,  our  Eastern  and  Middle 
States  reached  their  age  of  maturity  a  couple  of 
generations  ago,  but  the  United  States,  as  a  whole, 
passed  its  turning  point  some  years  past.     We  do 


328  RESULTS. 

not  mean  to  say  in  either  case  that  it  is  not  going 
to  increase  in  population,  wealth,  and  riches,  but 
we  mean  it  is  no  longer  a  new  country ;  it  has  passed 
its  period  of  youth.  Consequently,  if  our  indus- 
trial system  is  to  be  followed  by  any  evil  conse- 
quences, we  would  expect  it  to  show  such  results 
but  recently.  We  might  also  remark  that,  as  we 
are  accustomed  to  doing  everything  on  such  a 
grand  scale  in  this  country,  we  will  probably  excel 
in  this  direction.  Our  rich  men  will  be  richer  than 
in  any  other  country ;  and  while  our  poorer  classes 
can  not  be  poorer  than  they  are  in  England,  for 
instance,  and  live,  we  may  find  some  way  to  excel 
even  in  this  matter. 

Thomas  G.  Sherman,  of  New  York,  who  has 
interested  himself  in  the  distribution  of  wealth  in 
the  United  States,  tells  us  there  is  one  individual 
in  the  United  States  worth  at  least  $200,000,000. 
That  two  brothers,  whose  property  is  held  as  a 
unit  together,  own  even  a  larger  amount  than  this. 
There  are  two  other  estates  worth  at  least 
$150,000,000  each.  One  fortune  of  $70,000,000, 
two  of  $60,000,000,  and  at  least  five  of  $50,000,000. 
It  must  be  admitted  that  this  is  a  pretty  respecta- 
ble showing  for  a  nation  where  the  system  of  capi- 
talist production  could  hardly  get  agoing  until  the 
last  forty  years.  We  evidently  do  not  propose  to 
let   England   outdo   us  in   this   matter.     Most  of 


RKSUI/TS. 


329 


these  enormous  fortunes  are  the  outgrowth  of  the 

last  forty  years.     Before  that  time  a  man  worth  a 

million  dollars  was  looked   on  as  a  curiosity.     Mr. 

Sherman  gives   a   table  which  we  will  reproduce. 

There  are  in  the  United  States — 

70  families  whose  average  wealth  is $37,500,000 

90 
180 

135        " 
360 

1,735  " 
6,000 

7,000  "  " 

11,000  "■  " 

14,000  "  " 
16,500 

50,000  "  " 

75,000  "  " 

200,000  "  " 

1,000,000  "  " 

2,000,000  "  " 

9,620,000  "  " 

From  this  mass  of  figures  a  number  of  most 
unpalatable  facts  can  be  drawn.  Considerably  less 
than  one  per  cent,  of  our  population  own  more 
than  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  wealth  of  the  United 
States.  One-seventieth  part  of  the  people  own 
over  two-thirds  of  the  wealth.  Or  we  may  say 
that  four-fifths  of  the  total  wealth  of  the  United 
States  is  divided  among  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  persons,  leaving  one-fifth  to  be 
divided  among  twelve  and  one-half  millions  of  peo- 


CldgC    WWII 
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..      8,000,000 

<«                     (( 

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..       6,800,000 

II                   (< 

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4,600,000 

II                  II 

II 

2,300,000 

((                    II 

II 

1,250,000 

II                   II 

II 

650,000 

II                   II 

(< 

375,000 

(1                   II 

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230,000 

««                  l( 

II 

165,000 

(I                  II 

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100,000 

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«(                  II 

it 

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2,000 

(<                   (< 

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750 

33°  RESULTS. 

pie.  Now,  we  must  remember,  from  the  very 
nature  of  things,  for  every  individual  who  amassed 
an  enormous  fortune  scores  of  others  became  poor. 
It  is  certainly  clear  that  a  fortune,  rolling  up 
into  the  millions,  gathered  in  the  course  of  a  few 
years,  does  not  represent  wealth  created  by  the  in- 
dividual possessors  of  these  fortunes,  but  it  repre- 
sents a  diversion,  by  some  means  or  other,  of 
wealth  before  in  general  circulation  into  the  pocket 
of  the  lucky  speculator  or  capitalist.  We  know 
what  the  means  employed  by  some  men  are.  It 
includes  such  practices  as  buying  up  courts  and 
juries,  bribing  legislators,  log-rolling  schemes  of 
numerous  kinds,  and,  above  all,  by  stock  gambling. 
It  seems  the  more  we  study  the  problem  the 
clearer  it  becomes  that  every  force  of  modern  civili- 
zation is  pushing  on  this  stage  of  congestion  of 
wealth.  The  gulf  is  growing  wider  and  deeper 
between  the  few  rich  people  and  the  mass  of  com- 
paratively poor  people  on  the  other  hand.  We 
have  no  statistics  at  hand  to  show  that  the  mass  of 
people  are  getting  poorer,  yet  we  have  little  doubt 
that  is  the  facts  of  the  case.  If  we  compare  the 
census  of  1850  and  1880,  we  discover  that  while 
during  the  thirty  years  the  population  had  a  little 
more  than  doubled,  the  national  wealth  had  in- 
creased more  than  five  and  one-half  times.  This 
extra  increase  was  almost  wholly  confined  to  manu- 


RESULTS.  331 

facturing,  mining  interests,  railroads,  telegraphs, 
telephones,  and  petroleum.  Agriculture  just  about 
held  its  own,  the  farmers'  wealth  a  little  more  than 
doubling.  But  in  every  one  of  the  industries  we 
have  named,  monopolies,  trusts,  and  forms  of  com- 
bination are  especially  active.  All  processes  seem 
perfected  for  transferring  wealth  from  the  pockets 
of  the  general  public  to  the  individual  pockets  of 
capitalists  and  speculators. 

Surely  it  needs  no  one  to  point  out  that  these 
enormous  fortunes  are  a  standing  menace  to  the 
prosperity  of  any  land.  The  -mere  force  of  circum- 
stances tends  to  throw  every  advantage  in  the  way 
of  the  holders  of  large  fortunes  for  increasing  the 
same.  "  The  railways  of  the  country  are  an  in- 
stance in  point.  Time  was  when  the  stocks  and 
bonds  of  railways  were  owned  by  people  of  small 
means  all  over  the  country.  But,  after  many 
severe  lessons,  in  the  shape  of  stocks  wiped  out 
and  bond  interests  scaled  down,  these  small  holders 
were  taught  the  folly  of  investing  their  savings  in 
business  over  which  they  had  practically  no  con- 
trol, and  thus  placing  them  at  the  mercy  of  irre- 
sponsible corporate  officers,  Broadly  speaking, 
the  railway  property  of  the  country  is  owned  by 
men  who  are  worth  their  millions,  and  the  small 
holdings  are  being  rapidly  absorbed  every  day. 
But  the  case  is  not  true  of  railways  alone.     Tele- 


332  RESULTS. 

graph  lines,  telephone  and  electric  light  plants, 
our  mines,  and  to  a  large  extent  our  factories, 
which  were  once  held  by  private  owners,  are  now 
controlled  by  corporations  whose  shares  are  quoted 
on  the  exchanges,  and  are  consequently  subject  to  a 
forced  variation  in  value,  according  as  the  big  holders 
wish  to  force  them  up  or  down.  When  the  owner- 
ship of  a  property  is  once,  brought  into  this  chan- 
nel, it  is  no  longer  a  suitable  investment  for  the 
man  of  small  means.  In  other  words,  at  the  stage 
at  which  we  have  now  arrived,  the  workman  who 
has  by  pinching  economy  got  together  a  few  hundred 
dollars,  as  well  as  the  more  successful  man  who  has 
a  few  thousand  dollars,  are  practically  shut  out  of 
the  most  profitable  channels  of  investing  their 
money.  They  dare  not  place  them  where  it  may 
suit  the  convenience  of  some  moneyed  kings  to  de- 
press the  market  until  their  little  stock  is  gone. 

It  must  also  be  clear  that  if  it  be  true  these 
large  and  rapidly  growing  fortunes  represent  a  suc- 
cessful switching  of  wealth  in  general  circulation 
into  private  channels,  then  there  must  be  far  less 
money  for  the  mass  of  the  people  to  spend  for  the 
various  commodities  they  need.  On  this  point  Mr. 
Baker,  in  his  work  on  Monopoly,  says :  "  We  are 
confronted  of  late  years  with  the  strange  spectacle 
of  factories  and  mills  shut  down  for  months  at  a 
time,  of  markets  which,  at  various  times,  are  glut- 


results.  333 

ted  with  every  sort  of  commodity.  All  sorts  of 
causes  are  given,  all  sorts  of  remedies  are  suggested 
and  tried.  Where  is  the  true  one  ?  With  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  special  cases,  the  fault  is  not  that 
there  are  no  people  who  want  the  goods.  Probably 
ninety-nine  families  out  of  every  hundred  would 
buy  more  if  they  had  the  money  to  buy  with.  In 
many  cases  the  lack  of  mone}^  to  buy  with  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  bread-winners  are  out  of  em- 
ployment because  of  the  glutted  markets  and  idle 
mills.  Now,  combine  this  fact  that  the  holders  of 
monopolies  are  in  receipt  of  incomes  so  great  that, 
in  many  cases,  they  are  quite  unable  to  spend  them. 
Also  that  this  increase  is  largely  backed  up  to  wait 
the  chance  of  profitable  investment,  or  is  used  in 
speculation.  Is  it  not  obvious  now  that  the  rea- 
son why  people  can  not  afford  to  purchase  the 
goods,  with  which  the  warehouses  are  glutted,  is 
that  too  large  a  proportion  of  profits  has  been 
diverted  to  swell  fortunes  already  enormous?" 

We  are  now  able  to  take  a  broad,  general  sur- 
vey of  the  tendency,  and  notice  some  of  the  results 
following  from  the  principles  of  our  present  indus- 
trial system.  Do  we  not  plainly  see  that  all  the 
forces  of  advancing  culture  is  tending  steadily 
towards  the  formation  of  a  comparatively  few  rich 
and  powerful  class  of  people,  and  a  vast  army  of 
people  in  straightened  circumstances,  resting  on  a 


334  RESULTS. 

still  lower  division  of  impoverished  and  needy  peo- 
ple ?  The  whole  system  tends  to  break  down  the 
manhood  of  men.  With  every  advance  in  learning, 
the  situation  of  those  who  have  nothing  but  their 
labor  to  depend  on  becomes  even  more  precarious ; 
and  this  class,  by  the  way,  is  just  the  class  that 
is  bound  to  increase  proportionally  faster  as  time 
goes  on.  Continued  improvement  in  machinery  is 
bound  to  reduce  skilled  laborers  to  this  level,  and 
trusts,  monopolies,  and  combinations  of  various 
kinds  are  all  working  towards  that  common  end. 
The  general  impression  is  that  our  agricultural  in- 
terests are  falling  behind  in  the  race.  Unless  steps 
are  taken  soon  to  counteract  this  tendency,  we 
believe  the  yeoman  farmers  of  this  country  will  as 
utterly  disappear  as  they  did  in  Bngland. 

A  somewhat  singular  parallel  presents  itself  in 
considering  the  tendency  of  the  present  times,  and 
the  history  of  the  Bnglish  village  community.  As 
we  have  told  it  in  these  pages,  we  must  recall  the 
fierce  warriors  who  crushed  the  crumbling  power 
of  Rome,  those  who  scorned  to  bend  the  neck  to  a 
lord.  They  could  not  foresee  the  tendency  of  the 
institutions  they  were  adopting.  They  permitted 
the  chieftancy  to  become  hereditary  ;  they  permitted 
customs  to  become  binding.  In  the  course  of  a 
few  centuries  the  great  mass  of  these  once  haughty 
and    independent    warriors    were    actually    serfs. 


RESULTS.  ,335 

They  belonged,  together  with  their  land,  to  the 
nobility.  Collectively,  like  Bsau  of  old,  they  sold 
their  birthright  for  a  mess  of  pottage.  They  re- 
signed into  the  hands  of  their  lord  the  guarding  of 
their  interests.  They  did  not  foresee  that,  as  a 
reward  for  his  services,  he  would  lay  claim  to  them 
and  their  land.  They  wished  for  peace  and  qui- 
etude ;  they  received  the  peace  and  quietude  of 
serfage. 

It  took  some  centuries  of  slow  advance  to  rem- 
edy this  evil,  and  then  we  entered  on  our  present 
system.  The  laborer  sells  himself  daily,  hourly, 
weekly,  or  monthly  to  his  employer.  Labor  wants 
to  be  insured  a  certain  amount.  Capital  takes  the 
risk,  and  of  course  takes  the  gains.  Time  has 
passed  on ;  capital  has  grown  more  powerful,  until 
it  is  a  self-evident  truth  that  the  large  mass  of  the 
people  are  actually  slaves.  Slaves  to  what  ?  They 
are  certainly  free  to  come  and  go,  work  for  this 
master  or  that.  They  are  slaves  to  their  necessi- 
ties. They  must  work  or  starve.  No  one  objects 
to  the  necessity  of  labor,  but  what  civilization 
must  protest  against  is  the  power  of  capital  to  say 
what  the  wages  shall  be.  That  is  what  it  has  done 
in  the  past.  The  end  is  near  at  hand.  We  now 
have  trusts  and  monopolies  of  all  kinds  controlled 
by  multi-millionaires.  If  it  continues,  we  can  only 
expect  that  it  will  result  in  a  vast  mass  of  people 


33^  RESULTS. 

whose    condition    will    more    and    more   approach 
serfage. 

We  write  these  words  with  a  full  realization  of 
their  meaning.  We  know  that  earnest  thinkers  of 
all  shades  of  politics  and  creeds  recognize  in  a  gen- 
eral way  their  justice.  Wordsworth  Danisthorpe, 
a  very  conservative  writer,  sums  up  the  situation 
in  England  in  the  following  language,  and  his 
words  are  equally  applicable  to  the  United  States 
and  to  the  world  at  large  :  "  When  the  body  politic 
is  in  an  unstable  equilibrium ;  when  the  fabric  of 
society  is  shaken  to  its  foundation  ;  when  all  the 
signs  of  the  times  point  to  imminent  change,  for 
better  or  for  worse — then  the  true  statesman  is  he 
who,  before  the  inevitable  crash  comes,  can  so  fore- 
cast the  resultant  of  apparently  conflicting  forces 
as  to  be  able  to  guide  them  at  once  and  without 
unnecessary  waste  of  energy  and  time  into  their  des- 
tined channel.  The  navigator  can  not  make  the  wind, 
and  the  statesman  can  not  create  the  social  current, 
but  both  can  so  utilize  the  force  supplied  by  nature 
as  to  make  for  salvation  rather  than  wreck.  To-day 
presents  such  an  occasion.  To  sit  still  and  c  wish 
for  the  day '  means  ruin.  All  over  the  civilized 
world  he  that  hath  ears  to  hear  may  listen  to  the 
mutterings  of  the  coming  storm.  Riots  in  Amer- 
ica ;  riots  in  France ;  riots  in  Belgium ;  riots  in 
Holland ;  riots  even  in  tranquil  London — all  origi- 


RESULTS.  337 

nating,  not  with  the  scum  and  refuse  of  society, 
but  with  honest,  despairing  workers  clamoring  for 
bread  and  for  work,  and  not  knowing  whither  to 
turn.  Depressions  in  trade  of  an  intensity  and 
duration  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  industri- 
alism. Here  a  strike,  brought  to  a  close  by  the 
slow  starvation  of  the  strikers,  only  to  be  followed 
by  another,  due  to  impossible  wages.  There  a 
lock-out,  rendered  necessary  by  vanishing  profits. 
Everywhere  discontent  and  wretchedness,  aggra- 
vated by  class  envy  and  glaring  inequalities  of 
distribution.  All  these  and  a  hundred  other  signs 
bode  revolution.  It  must  come.  It  is  for  us  to  decide 
whether  itshall  be  short,  sharp,  and  bloody,  or  peace- 
ful and  thorough.  There  is  no  alternative,  and  now 
that  the  people  have  taken  the  matter  into  their  own 
hands,  it  is  upon  the  people  that  the  responsibility 
must  lie.  Probably  the  first  thing  in  this  country  to 
strike  an  observer,  unused  all  his  life  to  the  strange 
phenomenon,  would  be  the  spectacle  of  a  large 
majority  of  human  beings  toiling  all  day  long  and 
every  day  of  their  dreary  existence,  in  order  that  a 
small  minority  may  enjoy  the  proceeds  of  their 
work — toiling,  too,  at  wages  based  on  a  calculation 
of  the  cost  of  'keeping  body  and  soul  together.' 
Surely  if  it  were  not  so  tragical  the  situation  would 
be  almost  comical.  Yet  we  are  asked  to  tremble  at 
the  approach  of  the  revolution.     Of  whom?     Qf 


33 8  RESULTS. 

men  who  stand  passively  by  to  see  the  lives  of 
their  wives  and  mothers  and  sisters  crushed  out  of 
them  beneath  the  car  wheels  of  Juggernaut  Plutax  ? 
And  this,  too,  in  an  age  of  cheap  literature,  of 
gratis  education,  of  rapid  communication,  and  of 
free  meeting?  Is  it  that  the  Englishman  of  to-day 
has  too  much  sense  and  too  little  pluck  for  revolu- 
tion of  the  '  blood  and  iron  '  type  ?  Or  is  it  that 
he  has  hopes  of  a  peaceful  revolution,  and  courage 
to  wait  for  it  ?  But,  first,  what  is  the  explanation 
of  this  singular  economic  system  ?  In  accordance 
with  what  principles  of  justice  does  one  of  two 
partners  take  all  the  profits,  and  the  other  none?  " 

At  this  point  our  author  goes  over  the  ground 
that  has  now  become  familiar  to  us — shows  how 
the  laborer  can  only  hope  to  receive  what  will  sup- 
port him. 

"  So  that  whatever  a  workman  may  suppose 
himself  to  be  saving  and  putting  away  over  and 
above  his  cost  of  living  must  not  be  mistaken  for 
profit.  It  is  merely  the  refunding  of  the  money 
spent  on  his  own  youth  and  training,  or  a  sinking 
fund  to  pay  for  the  unremunerative  youth  and 
training  of  his  children,  from  whichever  point  of 
view  we  choose  to  regard  it.  In  neither  case  can  it 
be  regarded  as  profit.  He  has  no  more  to  call  his 
own  at  the  end  of  the  process  than  he  had  at  the 
beginning.     He  has  his  own  body  for  what  it  is 


RESULTS.  339 

worth,  but  so  also  the  capitalist  has  his  engine  and 
fixed  capital.  True,  he  has  been  fed  and  kept 
during  the  process,  but  so  has  the  engine  been 
kept  in  repair  and  supplied  with  fuel.  In  all  re- 
spects the  economic  position  of  the  two  is  identical. 
The  laborer  and  the  engine  are  treated  precisely 
alike.  Then  in  what  respect  is  the  free  laborer 
better  off  than  the  slave  ?  Let  us  face  this  ques- 
tion honestly.  If  we  do  not,  posterity  will.  The 
truth  is  that,  economically,  the  free  laborer  is  no 
better  off  than  the  slave.  In  one  respect  he  is 
worse  off  than  the  slaves  or  even  the  horses  of  his 
employer.  In  the  case  of  costly  slaves  on  a  sugar 
plantation,  and  in  the  case  of  an  English  capital- 
ist's horses,  it  is  found  more  economical  to  keep 
them  in  good  condition  and  to  get  a  moderate 
amount  of  work  out  of  them,  rather  than  to  overwork 
and  underfeed  them,  and  buy  new  ones  when  they 
are  worn  out.  With  free  men  in  an  overstocked 
labor  market  this  is  not  the  case ,  or  at  least  it  is 
not  believed  to  be  the  case  by  the  majority  of 
employers,  and  the  consequence  is  the  workers  are 
usually  worse  treated  than  if  they  had  to  be  bought 
and  sold  outright.  Whither  does  all  this  tend  ? 
See,  the  millions  are  organizing ;  no  longer  a  mob, 
they  are  an  army.  The  battle  can  not  rage  forever 
with  equal  fortune.  Which  side  shall  win?  That 
is   the   question  which   some   answer   with   hope ; 


34°  RESULTS. 

others  with  despair.  It  is  for  us  to  project  the 
converging  rays  of  the  past  into  the  future,  and 
with  that  light  predict  the  outcome.  Signs  of  a 
new  order  of  industrialism  are  already  apparent  on 
all  sides.  The  workers  are  chafing  under  the 
unfair  distribution  of  wealth  which  clearly  results 
from  the  present  arrangement.  Bven  the  orthodox 
economists  are  trying  hard  to  explain  it  away,  while 
a  few  independent  thinkers  are  busy  seeking  for 
the  foundation  of  the  new  order.  There  is  little 
room  for  doubt  that  a  nation  which  tolerates  a  dis- 
tribution of  wealth  so  glaringly  disproportionate 
to  individual  effort  as  the  present  system  entails  is 
guilty  of  a  national  sin.  Something  must  be  done, 
and  done  quickly,  to  rectify  the  anomaly,  and  the 
question  of  the  day  is  what?  " 

In  such  a  question  as  this,  we  can  not  make  a 
greater  mistake  than  to  suppose  the  only  people 
interested  are  a  few  laborers.  Society  as  a  whole 
is  suffering  from  the  system.  The  moderate  busi- 
ness men,  the  professional  men,  farmers  and  labor- 
ers— fully  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  our  population — 
are  directly  concerned,  and  in  a  wider  sense  still  all 
are  concerned.  The  moderate  business  men  and 
the  professional  men  can  prosper  only  as  the  gen- 
eral community  prosper. 

We  have  not  as  yet  said  much  directly  bearing 
upon  the  agriculturists  of  our  land.     This  because 


RESULTS.  341 

we  wanted  to  make  as  plain  as  possible  that  all  are 
suffering  alike  from  the  evils  of  the  system.  The 
heaping  up  of  enormous  fortunes  certainly  means 
the  dragging  down  to  a  lower  level  another  and 
greater  mass.  There  is  no  escape  from  this  con- 
clusion. Farmers,  business  men,  and  laborers  must 
all  suffer  in  order  that  a  few  may  heap  up  untold 
wealth.  Such  a  state  of  things  can  not  continue. 
It  remains  only  to  consider  the  nature  of  the  reme- 
dies proposed,  to  see  what  has  been  done  in  this 
direction,  and  point  out  other  steps  that  remain  to 
be  taken. 

Here  we  will  only  express  ourselves  generally 
to  the  effect  that  some  way  will  be  found  to  over- 
come the  evil.  Our  historical  chapters  were  written 
solely  to  show  how  great  changes  have  been  effected 
in  the  matter  of  government  from  the  first  prin- 
ciples up.  Tribal  society  and  political  society  are 
two  radically  distinct  forms  of  government  or  social 
organization.  It  is  a  marvel  that  man  was  ever 
able  to  effect  the  change  from  the  one  S3'stem  to  the 
other.  It  required  some  centuries  of  time  and  a 
succession  of  gifted  statesmen  to  effect  the  change 
in  Greece  and  Rome.  The  change  was  so  slow  and 
gradual  among  the  Germanic  people  that  medieval 
customs  in  Europe  show  the  clearest  traces  of  old 
tribal  life.  The  Gilds  themselves  being  but  arti- 
ficial  gens,    people    do    not   suddenly   invent   new 


342  RESULTS. 

forms.  There  are  so  many  points  of  resemblance 
between  the  customs  of  the  Gilds  and  those  of  the 
ancient  gens  that  it  shows  conclusively  the  people 
had  a  lively  knowledge  of  the  latter.  Now  this 
change  from  tribal  society  to  political  society  was  a 
necessary  change  if  civilization  was  to  advance,  and 
so  men  kept  at  the  problem  until  an  enduring 
change  was  made.    So  it  will  be  in  the  present  case. 

We  are  not  to  be  discouraged  at  the  difficulties 
in  our  way,  nor  at  the  thought  that  at  present  we 
do  not  know  the  best  way  to  proceed.  Probably 
during  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  many 
far-seeing  men,  who  greatly  deplored  the  evil  of 
villanage,  could  not  imagine  how  it  was  to  be  done 
away  with.  Yet  in  a  few  centuries  the  thing  was 
done.  The  world  moves  at  a  marvelously  accele- 
rated rate  of  speed  toward  any  given  goal  now,  and 
we  will  probably  not  have  to  wait  a  century  or  so 
before  we  can  experience  relief  from  our  present 
economic  ills.  But  yet  it  will  take  time,  the  millen- 
nium is  not  going  to  come  with  a  rush. 

We  have  taken  a  great  step  in  advance  when 
we  once  clearly  perceive  the  nature  and  dimensions 
of  the  evil.  It  is  not  the  result  of  local  and  tem- 
porary causes.  It  does  not  arise  from  tariff  laws, 
or  methods  of  taxation  or  financial  measures.  The 
most  we  can  say  in  reference  to  these  laws  is  that 
they    may    or   may   not   help  forward  the  general 


RESULTS.  343 

result.  It  may  or  may  not  be  necessary  to  modify  or 
change  them  greatly,  but  we  will  surely  miss  the 
very  heart  of  the  matter  if  we  fail  to  recognize  that 
our  present  system  is  an  historical  development,  if 
we  do  not  recognize  the  fact  that  capital  and  labor 
have  become  completely  separated,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence labor  is  a  mere  commodity,  and  as  a  farther 
consequence  the  power  of  capital  to  reduce  all  who 
live  by  labor  to  a  common  level.  This  process 
further  places  in  the  hands  of  capital  the  power  to 
take  the  greater  share  of  advantage  accruing  from 
increasing  knowledge  in  scientific  matters.  In  short, 
as  now  constituted,  the  trouble  arises  from  the  sys- 
tem itself.  A  reform  must  strike  at  the  very  roots 
of  the  matter.  It  must  some  way  or  other  unite 
labor  and  capital.  The  only  question  remaining  to 
to  discuss  is,  how  best  can  this  be  done?  And  in  a 
discussion  of  this  problem,  all — capitalists,  man  of 
business,  farmer,  laborer — are  most  vitally  con- 
cerned.    This  is  the  important  question  of  the  day. 

In  this  discussion  we  have  as  yet  said  nothing 
of  a  moral  side  of  the  question.  Yet  there  is  such 
a  side.  Our  attention  has  been  called  to  the  follow- 
ing words,  from  the  report  of  the  commissioner  of 
labor  for  Connecticut,  Hon.  S.  M.  Hotchkiss ;  they 
are  so  true,   we  hasten  to  give  them    expression  : 

"We  have  yet  to  prove  whether  a  people  can 
possess  the  same  qualities  with  great  riches.     The 


344  RESULTS. 

world  has  seen  more  nations  destroyed  by  wealth 
and  luxury  than  by  poverty  and  plain  living.  If 
we  have  great,  free  manhood,  we  can  carry  vast 
wealth  nobly ;  if  we  have  not,  it  will  crush  ns. 
There  are  higher  ambitions  than  to  be  rich.  The 
study  of  economics,  however  important,  is  not  man's 
noblest  study.  The  mightiest  nation  is  the  one 
that  rests  upon  the  strongest  moral  basis.  If  we 
make  everything  of  wages  and  profits,  of  course  we 
will  fight  over  their  proper  division.  See  what  the 
struggle  is  already  doing.  It  is  lowering  profits 
and  wages.  It  is  making  slaves  of  rich  and  poor 
alike.  It  is  creating  desires  that  easily  outrun  our 
marvelous  powers  of  production,  and  burdens  that 
even  our  steam  power  can  not  carry.  When  is 
the  struggle  to  end?  It  can  not  end  while  society 
puts  so  high  an  estimate  upon  money.  It  can  end 
only  by  a  moral  upheaval  that  shall  lift  all  classes, 
capitalists  and  laborers,  to  a  higher  moral  plane, 
where  we  can  see  the  mighty  truth  contained  in  the 
words  of  the  great  Master  of  the  modern  world; 
4  Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone.'  " 


PART   II 


A  Consideration  of  Some  of  the  Steps 

Taken  by  Labor  to  Counteract 

The  Tendency  of  Capital. 

CONTAINING 

A  FULL   DISCUSSION    OF   THE  VARIOUS 
LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS,  AND  ESPE- 
CIALLY THE  VARIOUS  AGRICUL- 
TURAL   ORGANIZATIONS. 


Many  of  the  Papers  Being  Prepared 
By  Officials  of  the  Orders. 


(345) 


<(ThE  idea  that  the  discontent  and  unrest 
among  the  industrial  classes  of  the  present  day  are 
due  mainly  to  the  influence  of  agitators,  or  to  any 
merely  superficial  causes,  is  a  mistaken  one.  If 
this  were  the  whole  or  principal  cause,  the  discon- 
tent would  hardly  be  worth  noticing.  But  one  can 
not  meet  and  talk  with  them  long  before  becoming 
aware  of  the  fact  that  agitators  have  comparatively 
little  to  do  with  the  matter.  There  is  a  profound 
and  almost  universal  feeling  among  them  that  the 
laborer  (whether  mechanical  or  agricultural,  whether 
he  works  on  a  farm  as  its  owner  or  in  a  shop  as  one 
of  the  hands)  does  not  receive  his  fair  share  of  the 
product." 


(346) 


LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS.  349 


COPTER  Xll. 

LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS. 

Changes  in  Public  Opinion — Civilization  can  not  be  Station- 
ery— Trade  Unions — Results  in  Great  Britain — Slow  Progress  at 
first — Combination  Laws — Early  Difficulties — The  Dorchester  Case 
— What  Trade  Unions  Are — Unions  of  Skilled  Labor — ^Success  of 
the  Movement — Results  of  the  Movement — Confederation  of  Trades 
— Trade  Unions  in  this  Country — The  Ten  Hours  Agitation — His- 
tory of  the  Movement  in  this  Country — Legal  Difficulties  in  this 
Country — Civil  War  in  this  Country— Brotherhood  of  Locomotive 
Engineers — History  of  this  Organization — Confederation  of  Labor 
Unions  in  this  Country — The  Knights  of  Labor — History  of  the 
Movement — Aims  of  Labor  Movement — Conclusion. 


MAKE  a  great  mistake  when  we 
assume  there  is  more  of  evil  in 
the  world  than  there  is  of  good. 
Human  nature,  of  course,  has 
much  to  atone  for,  there  is  much  that  is 
,t  frivolous,  much  of  weakness,  many  exhibi- 
tions of  human  selfishness,  but  for  all  that,  there  is 
more  of  good.  If  this  were  not  so  civilization  would 
have  been  simply  impossible.  The  mere  fact  that  man 
has  come  up  from  abject  savagery,  where  he  recog- 
nized no  rights  of  others,  unless  connected  with  his 
immediate  band,  to  our  present  state  of  enlightenment 
of  law  and  of  order,  shows  that  mankind  has  learned 
how  to  sink  the  individual  good  for  the  good  of  all. 


350  LABOR    ORGANIZATIONS. 

It  is  this  principle  of  human  nature  which  has  served 
in  times  past  to  alter  the  whole  frame  work  of  society 
if  necessary  to  further  the  public  good,  that  we  can 
safely  rely  upon  to  tide  us  over  the  difficulties  of  the 
day.  It  has  been  active  in  the  past,  it  is  active  to  day. 
Just  as  civilized  man  is  not  by  choice  a  criminal,  a 
tramp,  beggar  or  anarchist,  so  they  do  not  wish  to 
plunge  society  into  evils  they  know  not  of,  they  wil- 
lingly suffer  much,  but  such  a  state  of  affairs  sooner 
or  later  provides  its  own  remedies. 

The  older  writers  on  geology  used  to  picture 
forth  wonderful  scenes  of  great  natural  convulsions, 
great  mountain  changes  were  supposed  to  have  been 
formed  by  some  wonderful  upheaval  of  subterranean 
forces.  Continents  were  supposed  to  be  elevated  or 
depressed  by  earthquake  shocks.  But  now  that  they 
have  learned  more  of  nature's  ways  they  tell  us  that 
these  great  changes  have  slowly  and  with  a  certain 
majesty  of  movement,  gone  forward  through  the 
flight  of  many  years.  It  is  even  so  in  social  organi- 
zation. Social  changes  are  only  made  slowly  and 
gradually.  The  free  village  community  only  gradually 
sank  into  a  state  of  serfage,  and  only  gradually  did 
they  emerge  therefrom.  Only  gradually  did  the  evils 
inherent  in  our  present  industrial  system  come  plainly 
to  view.  Only  gradually  will  they  be  eliminated. 
But  at  the  same  time  we  must  remember  that  the 
world  moves  more  rapidly  now  towards  any  given  goal 
than  at  any  previous  tim£  in  history.    This  is  rendered 


LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS.  35} 

possible  by  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge  and 
the  great  facilities  we  possess  of  spreading  abroad  the 
news  of  the  day. 

It  is  not  possible  for  civilization  to  be  stationary. 
To  stand  still  is  to  retrogade.  It  follows,  of  course, 
that  the  evils  of  a  system  often  suggest  the  means  of 
a  cure.  So  of  the  present  industrial  system.  Causes 
have  been  at  work  to  modify  the  evils.  Society  has 
adopted  new  plans  and  methods  of  work,  and  there 
are  many  who  think  that  all  the  evils  may  be  reme- 
died by  a  further  extension  of  the  means  at  present 
employed.  So  we  must  first  see  what  has  been  done 
already.  Every  one  knows  the  story  of  the  bundle  of 
sticks,  singly,  they  were  easily  broken,  collectively, 
they  were  able  to  withstand  the  efforts  of  those  who 
wished  to  break  them.  This  is  the  lesson  that  labor 
has  been  learning  the  last  half  century.  Combination 
and  organization  have  been  its  watch  cry.  There  is 
no  question  that  combination  has  done  much  in  the 
past,  it  will,  probably,  accomplish  still  more  in  the 
future. 

Various  forms  of  labor  organization  are  in  exists 
ence,  the  general  name  of  Trades  Unions  is  applicable 
to  the  majority  of  them.  Of  late  years  we  have  other 
organizations,  such  as  the  Knights  of  Labor,  which 
proposes  to  gather  all  laborers  in  one  grand  organi- 
zation. There  are,  however,  many  features  in  Trade 
Unions  that  appeal  more  directly  to  the  laborers,  each 
particular  trade,  for  instance,  knows   its  own  wants 


352  LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS. 

and  needs,  and  understands  better  what  steps  are  to 
be  taken  to  make  their  success  assured.  But  to  ob- 
tain the  greatest  benefits  of  organization  the  numerous 
trade  organizations  are  combining  in  a  great  confede- 
ration of  trades.  Probably,  no  organization  has 
achieved  what  its  enthusiastic  founders  hoped  that  it 
would.  But  their  educative  influence  has  been  enor- 
mous. And  the  end  is  not  yet.  They  continually 
point  the  way  to  future  actions.  They  educate  their 
numbers  in  the  power  of  self-direction,  self-protection 
and  self-control. 

Trade  Unions  have  been  brought  to  great  per- 
fection in  Great  Britain.  This  was  but  natural,  for 
that  country  was  the  one  where  the  capitalist  mode  of 
production  was  brought  to  such  an  early  perfection, 
and  consequently  there  is  where  we  would  look  for 
organization  of  laborers  to  take  the  first  steps. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem  to  us,  Trade  Unions,  or  the 
right  of  men  engaged  in  trade  to  organize  for  self- 
protection  rested  under  various  legal  disabilities  in 
England  until  1871.  If  we  will  recall  the  history  of 
labor,  knowing  that  but  a  few  centuries  ago  laborers 
were  actually  serfs,  it  will  not  strike  us  as  strange  that 
the  first  legislation  was  for  the  purpose  of  controlling 
labor.  The  so-called  upper  classes  of  the  time 
seemed  to  think  they  had  a  perfect  right  to  interfere, 
to  keep  labor  under  restraint.  We  have  stated  that 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  after  the  outbreak  of  the 
plague,   legislation   sought  to   prescribe  the    rate  of 


LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS.  353 

wages.  This  tendency  or  prejudice  long  survived. 
It  was  difficult  for  the  law  making  power  to  see  that 
labor  as  such  had  the  right  to  plan  and  work  for  its  own 
production. 

Then  there  was  another  reason  to  which  we  have 
briefly  alluded  in  the  preceding  chapter.  Adam 
Smith  and  the  writers  of  his  school  thought  that  com- 
binations and  associations  of  all  kinds  interfering 
as  they  certainly  would  with  the  free  action  of  com- 
petition, were  an  evil  to  be  avoided.  We  can  there- 
fore understand  the  course  of  events.  No  sooner 
had  the  present  industrial  system  fairly  got  agoing 
and  the  consequent  gathering  of  the  workmen  in  fac- 
tories than  combinations  of  laborers  were  formed  to 
resist  the  encroachment  of  the  manufacturers.  These 
were  the  first  trade  unions.  While  in  many  respects 
they  were  and  are  much  like  the  craft  gilds,  yet  in 
important  respects  they  differ.  Not  stopping  to  dwell 
on  that  point,  let  us  trace  the  history  of  that  move- 
ment. 

The  first  trade  organization  in  Great  Britain  were 
semi-secret  societies,  this  course  was  forced  on  them 
by  the  combination  laws,  the  first  of  which  was  passed 
in  the  year  1800,  but  there  is  a  whole  series  of  enact- 
ments known  generally  by  this  name.  They  pro- 
hibited all  agreements  or  associations  of  workmen, 
for  the  purpose  of  advancing  wages,  or  controlling 
their  masters  in  the  regulation  of  their  business. 
Justices  of  the  peace  or  magistrates  were  empowered 


354  LABOR    ORGANIZATIONS. 

to  convict  summarily  and  impose  two  months'  impris- 
onment upon  workmen  who  should  enter  into  any 
such  agreement.  The  same  punishment  was  to  be 
meted  out  to  those  who  endeavored  to  influence  the 
action  of  other  workmen.  These  laws  while  prevent- 
ing open  combinations  could  not  prevent  secret  agree- 
ments. We  are  not  to  understand  that  they  were 
dead  letter  laws.  In  1805  three  linen-weavers  were 
sent  to  jail  for  three  months,  one  of  them  for  simply 
carrying  notes  from  one  place  to  another  requesting  as- 
sistance. In  1816  three  carpenters  were  sentenced  to 
one  month's  imprisonment  each,  and  two  to  twelve 
months'  each. 

To  show  how  prejudiced  the  people  of  the  day 
were,  it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that  not  content 
with  the  severity  of  the  laws,  the  most  unfair  advant- 
age were  taken  of  workmen.  In  18 18,  for  instance, 
the  weavers  of  Lancashire  had  some  trouble  with 
their  employers.  A  compromise  was  finally  agreed 
upon  and  a  meeting  was  called  and  deputies  were 
sent  from  various  parts  to  meet  at  Lancashire.  "The 
president  of  this  meeting,  Robert  Ellison,  who  had 
advocated  and  recommended  the  compromise,  and 
also  a  subsequent  resolution,  which  was  favorable  to 
the  employers,  attended  not  only  with  the  consent  but 
at  the  request  of  his  employer,  Mr.  White.  A  fortnight 
after  the  resolution  had  been  agreed  to,  and  all  the 
men  had  gone  back  to  their  work,  the  president,  Elli- 
son,   and    the   two    secretaries,    Richard    Kaye    and 


LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS.  355 

Robert   Pilkington,  were  arrested.     They  were  tried 
on  an  indictment  at  common  law  for  conspiracy,  Elli- 
son being  sentenced  to  twelve  months'  imprisonment, 
although   his   own  employer  in  open   court  gave  evi- 
dence on  his  behalf,  and  stated  moreover  that  he  him- 
self recommended    the    resolution.      The   other  two 
were    sentenced    to    two    years'    imprisonment  each, 
which  they  all  suffered.     Such  were  the  combination 
laws,  and  such  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  employers." 
The  history  of  these  persecutions  and  contentions 
and  the  consequent  privations   endured  by  the  work- 
men  for  the   purpose  of  securing  their  independence 
and  the  rip-ht   to  combine  to  advance  their  interest  is 
a   history  of   heroism.      In  spite   of   oppression  the 
most  crushing,  of  legal  enactments  the  most  stringent, 
of  punishment   the    most    cruel  for  every  infraction  of 
the  combination  acts,  the  men  continued  to  combine. 
They   fought   for  every   inch  of  ground   and  victory 
finally  crowned  their  efforts.     There  are  men  still  liv- 
ing in  England  who  can  remember  when  they  had  to 
bury  the  books    and  records  of  tneir  societies,  when 
oaths  had  to  be  restored   to,  and  were   administered 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  mutual  protection,  when 
to  ask  for  a  rise  of  wages,  or  even  to  receive  it  when 
offered,  was  a  violation  of  the  law.     The  first  conces- 
sions won  by  the  working  men  were  embodied  in  two 
acts  passed  respectively  in  1824  and  1825.     By  these 
acts  the  combination  laws  were  repealed.     That  is  to 
say,  men  were  now  allowed  to  peacefully  unite  to  de- 


356  LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS. 

termine  questions  of  wages,  etc.,  but  unfortunately 
this  provision  only  applied  to  the  men  actually  pres- 
ent at  the  meeting.  All  meetings  or  agreements 
whatever  for  the  purpose  of  affecting  the  wages  or 
hours  of  work  of  persons  not  present  at  the  meeting 
or  parties  to  the.  agreement,  were  still  held  to  be  con- 
spiracies. So  were  all  agreements  for  controlling  a 
master  in  the  management  of  his  business,  as  regards 
the  persons  he  employed,  or  the  machinery  which  he 
should  use.  So  also  were  all  agreements  not  to  work 
in  company  of  any  given  person,  or  to  persuade  other 
persons  to  leave  their  employment,  or  not  to  engage 
themselves.  In  fact  nearly  every  act  of  a  workman 
as  a  member  of  a  Trade  Union  could  be  made  a  con- 
spiracy. 

Here  again  we  can  refer  to  one  of  the  most 
atrocious  labor  persecutions  of  history.  In  1834 — 
less  than  sixty  years  ago — six  laborers  at  Dorchester 
were  sentenced  to  seven  years  transportation  for  the 
crime  of  combination.  This  came  near  precipitating 
a  storm.  The  best  men  of  the  day  at  once  took  sides 
with  the  laborers.  Over  four  hundred  thousand  peo- 
ple attended  one  indignation  meeting.  A  procession 
some  six  miles  in  length,  composed  of  fifty  thousand 
workmen,  waited  on  the  Prime  Minister  with  a  peti- 
tion with  nearly  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  thou- 
sand signatures,  praying  for  the  men's  pardon.  It 
was  finally  granted,  but  in  the  meanwhile  the  men  had 
been    hurried   off  to   Australia,   cruelly   treated,   and 


LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS.  357 

literally  sold  as  slaves  for  a  guinea  a  head.  Some  of 
them  did  not  hear  of  their  pardon  until  years  after- 
wards, and  then  only  by  accident. 

After  this  there  were  thirty-five  years  gradual 
growth  on  the  part  of  trade  unions.  There  was  a 
great  deal  of  friction  during  that  period.  Numerous 
royal  commissions,  trials  and  tinkering  with  the  laws, 
but  the  cause  of  labor  was  gaining  all  the  time. 
Finally,  in  1871,  then  in  1875,  all  the  old  laws  of 
combination  and  conspiracy  were  swept  aside.  The 
history  of  the  long  conflict  here  briefly  outlined,  is 
not  so  well  known  as  it  should  be.  It  contains  an 
object  lesson  for  all  classes.  It  teaches  law-makers 
that  repressive  laws  are  ineffectual,  as  well  as  danger- 
ous and  oppressive.  It  teaches  workmen  the  wisdom 
of  moderation  in  their  demands.  Sooner  or  later 
if  the  claims  put  forward  are  reasonable  and  just 
they  will  be  sure  to  be  acknowledged  by  all. 

In  their  essence  trade  unions  are  voluntary  asso- 
ciations of  workmen  for  mutual  protection  and  assist- 
ance in  securing  generally  the  most  favorable  condi- 
tions of  labor.  This  is  their  primary  and  fundamen- 
tal objects  and  includes  all  efforts  to  raise  wages  or 
prevent  a  reduction  in  wages  ;  to  diminish  the  hours 
of  labor  or  resist  attempts  to  increase  the  working 
hours ;  and  to  regulate  all  matters  pertaining  to 
methods  of  employment  or  discharge,  and  modes  of 
working.  But  since  they  propose  to  interest  them- 
selve  in  every  detail  connected   with  the   well-being 


358  LABOR    ORGANIZATIONS. 

of  their  members,  they  also  make  arrangements  for 
mutual  assistance  in  case  of  sickness,  accident,  death, 
out  of  work,  inability  to  work  on  account  of  age,  loss 
of  tools  by  fire,  etc,  They  accomplish  this  latter 
purpose  by  means  of  contributions,  each  member  of 
the  union  paying  a  definite  weekly  sum,  which  entitles 
him  to  all  the  benefits  set  forth  in   the  societies  rules. 

The  fund  for  the  out  of  work  is  one  of  the  most 
important  funds.  Owing  to  many  causes  workmen 
may  be  out  of  employment.  His  wants  stay  with 
him  if  his  work  and  wages  do  not.  He  is  allowed  a 
certain  amount  out  of  the  fund  to  relieve  his  pressing 
necessities.  Thousand  of  families  in  Great  Britain 
alone  are  kept  from  applying  for  public  assistance. 
The  total  sum  which  has  been  thus  applied  is  enor- 
mous. The  amalgamated  society  of  engineers  in  the 
thirty-one  years  of  their  history,  ending  in  1890,  ap- 
plied for  this  purpose  seven  and  a  half  million  dollars. 
This,  let  It  be  noted,  does  not  include  the  sums  de- 
voted to  other  purposes,  such  as  sickness,  death,  ac- 
cidents, etc.  Certainly  a  very  great  amount  of  dis- 
tress has  been  thus  diverted,  and  much  of  suffering 
has  been  alleviated. 

Each  trade  or  industry  has  its  own  union  ;  these 
may  be  either  local  or  general  unions.  Local  unions 
are  those  confined  to  a  particular  town  or  district. 
Almost  all  trade  societies  were  originally  local  unions. 
Some  trades,  like  the  hardware  trade  for  instance, 
is  entirely  confined  to  one  particular  section.    A  gen- 


LABOK   OKGANIZATIONS.  359 

eral  union  has  a  common  center,  but  branches  or 
lodges  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  They  include 
trades  found  quite  generally  over  the  country,  as  the 
building  trades.  Many  of  the  larger  unions  are  now- 
called  amalgamated  societies.  It  was  adopted  by  the 
engineers  in  1851  to  denote  the  consolidation  of  the 
several  branches  of  the  engineering  trades  under  a 
central  executive,  with  a  common  fund,  and  governed 
by  one  code  of  rules,  applicable  to  all  alike.  It  now 
often  means  the  gathering  into  one  general  union  of 
the  local  and  independent  unions  of  a  particular 
trade,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  amalgamated  societies 
of  carpenters. 

Formerly  trade  unions  were  almost  wholly  con- 
fined to  what  was  termed  skilled  labor,  such  as  engi- 
neers, masons,  carpenters,  etc.  But  we  now  have 
immense  associations  of  what  is  generally  called  un- 
skilled labor.  The  Dockers  of  London  are  an  example. 
In  March,  1890,  their  union  consisted  of  fifty  thousand 
men.  It  is  certainly  a  most  excellent  thing  to  bring 
such  a  mass  of  unskilled  laborers  into  a  disciplined 
body.  There  are  other  unions  of  this  nature,  such  as 
the  "  General  Laborers  Union."  The  largest  society 
outside  the  "  Dockers  Union,"  is  the"  Sailors  and  Fire- 
mans  National  Amalgamated  Union  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland."  In  1889  this  body  numbered  sixty-five 
thousand  members.  In  short,  the  labor  unions  of 
Great  Britain  have  achieved  a  great  success,  a  short 
time  ago  the  very  name  of  trade  union  was  a  term  of 

22 


360  LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS. 

reproach  ;  now  the  movement  is  even  fashionable.  In 
parliament  they  are  treated  with  consideration  and 
respect.  The  proposals  of  their  leaders  are  no  longer 
derided  and  dismissed  with  scorn  and  contempt ;  their 
representatives  are  not  talked  at  as  formerly,  but  are 
consulted  upon  measures  and  matters  relating  to  labor. 

There  is  scarcely  a  town  in  Great  Britain  in 
which  there  are  not  several  of  these  unions  or  local 
branches  of  the  larger  ones  whose  seat  of  government 
is  situated  in  one  of  the  great  centers  of  industry.  The 
total  number  of  independent  societies  cannot  be  far 
short  of  three  thousand.  In  London,  Manchester, 
Liverpool,  Sheffield,  Birmingham,  Bristol,  Leeds,  Not- 
tingham, Glasgow,  Dublin  and  other  towns  they  form 
a  perfect  net-work  of  organized  forces,  existing  for 
good  or  for  evil  side  by  side,  and  which,  on  emergency, 
can  be  called  into  active  operation,  backed  by  immense 
material  resources  and  voting  power.  So  numerous 
are  these  trade  societies  that  no  single  trade  long  in 
existence  of  which  one  even  heard  the  name,  is  with- 
out its  union,  and  even  the  names  of  some  of  them 
are  unknown  to  the  public. 

The  total  number  of  workmen  in  all  grades  who 
are  thus  combined  cannot  be  less  than  fifteen  hundred 
thousand,  over  half  a  million  have  been  represented, 
directly  or  indirectly,  at  some  of  the  annual  trade 
union  congresses.  The  annual  income  must  very 
nearly  approximate  to  ten  million  dollars  and  their 
total  reserve  funds  are  hardly  less  than  that  sum,  for 


LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS.  361 

sixteen  societies  alone  have  a  balance  in  hand  of  about 
three  and  a  half  million  dollars.  Even  this,  however, 
does  not  represent  the  entire  actual  and  available 
force  of  these  industrial  organizations,  for  the  unions 
can  count  upon  the  moral  support,  and  in  case  of  need 
the  temporary  contributions  of  vast  numbers  of  work- 
men who  are  not  regular  members  of  the  society.  For 
all  practical  purposes,  therefore,  the  unions  may  be 
regarded  as  Representing  the  fighting  strength  of  the 
whole  body  of  the  skilled  workmen,  inasmuch  as  they 
have  been  steadily  increasing  in  numbers,  in  extent 
and  in  compactness  of  organization  during  the  last 
thirty  years,  so  that  the  flower  of  Britain's  artisan  and 
laboring  population  are  now  embraced  within  their 
pale  ;  and  this  cumulative  force  is  being  uniformly  ex- 
tended and  consolidated,  and  reduced  to  regularity 
and  order. 

So  much  for  the  success  of  the  movement.  When 
we  turn  to  consider  the  results'  of  the  unions  on  the 
character  of  the  members  equally  as  satisfactory  results 
are  before  us.  There  is  first  the  discipline  enforced 
upon  the  members  ;  they  are  a  law  unto  themselves. 
Everything  is  done  regularly  and  with  order.  The 
members  are  taught  to  rely  first  upon  themselves,  and 
then  to  support  each  other  in  case  of  need.  Disci- 
pline gives  systematic  form  and  force  to  the  general 
conclusions  arrived  at  by  the  entire  body  of  the  mem- 
bers.  Such  unions  inculculate  thrift  on  the  part  of 
the  members,  for  they  are  constantly  discussing  ques- 


362  LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS.' 

tions  of  ways  and  means,  and  have  to  look  forward  to 
times  of  depression  or  of  discontent,  and  to  provide 
the  funds  needful  for  any  and  every  emergency.  They 
also  have  an  educational  and  elevating  tendency  on 
the  character  of  the  individual,  for  each  member  has 
the  fullest  opportunity  of  expressing  his  opinion  on  all 
questions  brought  up  for  discussion.  He  is  thus  fitted 
to  debate  matters  of  the  highest  importance,  and  is 
trained  to  reason  on  subjects  which  involve  the  inter- 
ests of  tens  of  thousands  of  persons  beyond  his  own 
narrow  circle.  The  scope  and  power  of  this  influence 
are  not  confined  to  those  who  are,  for  the  time  being, 
members  of  the  union.  On  the  contrary,  the  organ- 
ized energy  of  the  union  is  felt  everywhere,  it  effects 
the  whole  class  of  workmen  in  all  places  and  at  all 
times. 

More  than  one  writer  has  spoken  of  this  phase  of 
the  question.  We  are  told  that  the  real  importance 
of  workingmen's  associations  is  not  that  these  unions 
simply  guard  his  interests  as  a  workman,  but  that 
they  teach  thrift,  providence  and  care  for  the  future. 
"They  are  schools  in  which  he  learns  to  understand 
business  life  in  all  its  bearings  and  with  all  its  dfficul- 
ties  and  dangers.  His  life  has  received  a  new  purpose 
and  character.  He  is  learning  by  his  own  experience 
to  recognize  the  difficulties  which  oppose  themselves 
to  the  carrying  out  of  social  institutions.  He  is  be- 
coming more  moderate  in  his  claims,  calmer  in  judg- 
ment and  more  contented  with  success.    Step  by  step6 


LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS.  363 

by  his  meetings,  journals  and  congresses  he  is  attract- 
ing the*  general  interest  of  the  public,  acquiring  an 
influence  in  local  bodies  and  in  parliament,  and  becom- 
ing a  more  active,  independent  and  powerful  factor  in 
state  life." 

Several  attempts  have  been  made  in  England  to 
unite  all  the  trade  unions  in  one  vast  confederation  of 
trades,  this  will,  probably,  be  accomplished  before 
many  years.  Nearly  fifty  years  ago  there  was  the 
"  National  Association  of  Organized  Trades,"  and 
was  very  active  for  a  few  years,  then  it  gradually  lost 
power  and  influence  and  was  finally  dissolved  in  1861. 
Four  years  later  a  second  attempt  was  made.  But 
this  union  only  lasted  two  years  and  was  then  dis- 
solved. Several  attempts  to  come  to  some  basis  of 
agreement  have  been  made  since  then,  and  one  is  now 
pending.  The  trouble  is,  there  are  so  many  conflict- 
ing interests  to  be  taken  into  consideration  before  a 
union  of  this  kind  can  be  effected.  It  will,  probably, 
come,  for  organization  and  concentration  is  the  policy 
of  the  day.  And  the  impression  is  beginning  to  pre- 
vail that  no  very  great  progress  can  now  be  made  in 
the  solution  of  the  labor  problem,  or  obtain  for  labor 
its  rightful  dues,  except  a  National  Federation  of  all 
the  trades  in  the  country. 

It  might  be  well  to  inquire  what  "  practical  "  good 
the  unions  have  done,  meaning  by  that,  have  they  in- 
creased the  workman's  wages  or  shortened  his  hours 
or  given  him  more  power.    It  is  admitted  on  all  hands 


364  LABOR    ORGANIZATIONS. 

that  wages  have  increased  to  some  extent  in  Great 
Britain,  though  it  will  be  found,  on  examination,  that 
this  advance  is  largely  confined  to  the  higher  grades 
of  skilled  workmen.  There  is  still  a  great  deal  to  be 
accomplished  in  this  direction,  but  the  whole  question 
as  to  the  power  of  trade  unions  to  effect  a  rise  ol 
wages  will  be  discussed  later.  The  movement  has 
certainly  influenced  legislation  in  favor  of  increased 
power  for  workmen.  The  various  reform  bills  of  Great 
Britain,  extending  the  suffrage,  were,  in  a  sense,  ren- 
dered possible  by  the  adhesion  of  the  trade  unions  of 
England,  Scotland  and  Ireland.  The  tendency  of 
labor  organizations  in  Great  Britain,  as  in  this  country, 
is  steadily  in  the  direction  of  making  their  political 
power  and  influence  more  strongly  felt.  This  is  not 
to  be  regarded  with  apprehension.  We  have  no 
doubt  they  will  be  conservative  and  wise  in  their 
actions. 

Turning  to  this  country,  we  have  trade  unions, 
and  they  are  very  active  and  powerful,  but  they  are 
not  as  far  advanced  as  in  Great  Britain.  They  have 
by  no  means  come  to  their  maturity  of  power.  As 
English  common  law  was  the  source  of  our  law  as 
well,  it  need  not  surprise  us  to  know  that  here,  too, 
organized  labor  has  had  an  age  of  discouragement 
even  of  persecution.  It  is  claimed  that  the  tailors  of 
this  country  were  the  first  to  form  a  trade  union,  their 
organization  dating  back  to  1806.  1825  is  quite  a 
landmark  in  the  history  of  labor  in  this  country.     So- 


LABOR    ORGANIZATIONS.  365 

cial  and  economic  questions  were  claiming  the  atten- 
tions of  thinkers.  At  that  time  the  workmen  were 
suffering  from  over-work,  low  wages  and  poverty.  The 
papers  of  the  day  discussed  such  questions  as  "  how 
to  prevent  the  rich  from  swallowing  up  the  poor,"  and 
they  dilated  on  the  injurious  consequences  of  allowing 
individuals  to  amass  large  fortunes.  What  would 
these  writers  have  said  could  they  have  foreseen  some 
of  the  fortunes  of  to-day?  It  was  at  this  time,  too, 
that  Owens'  famous  experiment  of  founding  a  commu- 
nity at  New  Harmony,  Ind.,  was  made. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  the  agitation  in  favor 
of  ten  hours  a  day  began  to  make  itself  felt.  To  the 
employers  of  that  time  it  seemed  as  if  the  end  of  all 
prosperity  was  at  hand  if  they  were  compelled  to  re- 
duce the  time  to  ten  hours  per  day.  This  movement, 
extending  through  many  years,  was  resisted  far  more 
bitterly  than  the  agitation  of  to-day  in  favor  of  eight 
hours.  But  to  return  to  our  subject.  Strikes  in  favor 
of  ten  hours  and  other  labor  demands  begun  to  be 
made.  But  in  this  country  of  the  "free"  as  well  as 
in  England,  it  seemed  a  self-evident  proposition  that 
laborers  had  no  rights  worth  talking  about.  When  in 
1832  the  laborers  on  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal 
struck  they  were  arrested  and  imprisoned,  but  were 
subsequently  released.  In  1829  there  was  a  working- 
men's  ticket  in  the  field  in  New  York.  Its  first  plank 
or  resolution  in  its  platform  has  a  familiar  sound  to- 
day.    "  In  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  the  first  appro- 


366  LABOR    ORGANIZATIONS. 

priation  of  the  soil  of  the  state  to  private  and  exclusive 
possession  was  eminently  and  barbarously  unjust." 

In  183 1  there  was  a  meeting  of  farmers,  mechanics 
and  other  workmen  held  in  Boston.  It  is  to  be 
noticed  that  in  this  meeting  farmers  and  other  laborers 
joined  hands,  at  this  late  day  we  are  coming  around 
to  this  same  ground.  This  meeting  was  but  the  fore- 
runner of  larger  conventions  in  Boston,  at  which  dele- 
gates were  present  from  New  York  and  all  of  the  New 
England  States  except  Vermont.  A  consideration  of 
the  questions  they  discussed  and  remedies  they  pro- 
posed will  show  us  that  the  problem  confronting  the 
laboring  world  then  was  the  same  as  now,  sixty  years 
later.  They  considered  the"  adyisability  of  calling  a 
national  convention  of  workingmen,  and  discussed  the 
needs  of  labor,  landed  interests,  taxation  and  co- 
operative trading.  The  remedies  proposed  have  a 
strange  likeness  to  those  now  in  favor.  They  called 
for  the  organization  of  the  whole  laboring  population. 
And  the  selection  from  among  the  politicians  of  the 
respective  parties  whose  moral  character,  personal 
habits,  relations  and  employments,  as  well  as  profes- 
sions, afforded  a  guarantee  of  their  disposition  to 
revise  the  social  and  political  system  and  introduce 
needed  reforms. 

A  meeting  of  the  employers  held  at  Boston  shows 
in  a  sufficiently  striking  way  how  easy  it  was,  and  is, 
for  capital  to  deny  rights  of  others,  which  it  claims  it- 
self.    They  wished  to  "  discountenance  and  check  the 


LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS.  367 

unlawful  combination  formed  to  control  the  freedom 
of  individuals  as. to  hours  of  labor,"  so  they  set  forth 
at  length  the  "  pernicious  and  demoralizing  tendency 
of  these  combinations."  They  resolved  that  "  labor 
ought  always  to  be  left  free  to  regulate  itself,  and  that 
neither  the  employed  nor  the  employer  should  have 
the  power  to  control  the  other ;  that  all  combinations 
to  regulate  the  price  and  hours  of  labor  or  to  restrain 
individual  freedom  and  enterprise  were  at  all  times 
attended  with  pernicious  consequences."  Then  ap- 
parently in  blissful  ignorance  that  it  involved  any 
incongruity  to  their  previous  resolution,  they  resolved 
that  "  we  will  neither  employ  any  journeyman  who  at 
the  time  belongs  to  such  combinations,  nor  will  we 
give  work  to  any  master  mechanic  who  shall  employ 
them  while  they  continue  thus  pledged  to  each  other." 
It  is  evident  that  this  last  resolution  is  not  very  con- 
sistent with  what  goes  before. 

The  employers  did  not  always  content  themselves 
with  simple  resolves.  In  1833  a  carpet  company  in 
Connecticut  had  some  of  its  striking  employees  arrested 
for  conspiracy.  The  question  at  issue  was  whether 
the  workmen  had  a  right  to  refuse  to  work  or  to  con- 
spire or  agree  together  not  to  work  for  less  than  a 
certain  sum.  The  court  ruled  against  the  workmen, 
but  the  jury  discharged  them.  In  the  same  year  in  a 
similar  case,  some  shoemakers  in  New  York  were 
arrested  and  convicted  of  conspiracy.  In  1836  twenty- 
one  journeymen  tailors  were  fined  in  sums  ranging 


368  LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS. 

from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
each  for  striking  for  higher  wages  and  preventing 
others  by  threats  and  promises  and  various  means 
from  working  except  for  the  agreed  scale  of  prices.  A 
few  years  later  there  was  a  celebrated  case  in  Massa- 
chusetts. Seven  journeymen  shoemakers  were  charged 
with  conspiracy  in  that  they  formed  an  unlawful  com- 
bination, made  unlawful  rules  to  regulate  themselves 
and  other  workmen  and  agreed  not  to  work  for  any 
master  who  should  employ  a  workman  not  belonging 
to  their  union.  The  first  trial  went  against  the  de- 
fendants, but  the  Supreme  Court  arrested  judgment. 
Without  going  too  much  into  detail  we  can  assert 
that  the  principle  of  trade  unions  has  had  on  the 
whole  a  steady  growth  in  the  United  States,  in  spite 
of  the  many  discouragements  under  which  it  rested. 
In  1834  there  was  formed  the  first  trades  assembly  at 
Boston.  The  ten  hours  agitation  was  continued,  and 
along  in  the  forties  it  was  quite  generally  granted. 
The  first  industrial  congress  of  the  United  States  met 
in  New  York  in  1845.  The  preamble  makes  a  state^ 
ment  of  special  interest  to  us  at  this  day.  It  states  : 
"  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  rich  men,  capitalists  and 
non-producers  associate  to  devise  means  for  securing 
to  themselves  the  fruits  of  other  men's  labor,  and  that 
schemes  for  this  purpose  are  invented  and  accom- 
plished by  combinations.  Believing  that  no  effectual 
resistance  to  these  combinations  can  ever  take  place, 
without  united  action  of  the  same  character  on  the 


LABOR    ORGANIZATIONS.  369 

part  of  those  who  labor  and  produce  all,  it  is  deemed 
expedient  to  recommend  a  plan  of  organization  for  the 
adoption  of  farmers,  mechanics  and  workingmen 
throughout  the  United  States."  Here,  again,  we 
must  notice  the  early  effort  to  bring  about  a  combina- 
tion of  agricultural  and  other  laboring  interests.  A 
consummation  still  devoutly  wished  for. 

Our  civil  war  had  a  great  deal  of  influence  on 
the  world  of  labor.  The  large  number  of  men  sud- 
denly demanded  for  military  purposes,  as  well  as  the 
immense  supplies  necessary  to  carry  on  the  war, 
not  only  furnished  labor  for  all,  but  made  a  good 
market  for  commodities  and  produce  of  all  kinds. 
Many  old  unions  were  reorganized,  and  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  there  was  a  circle  of  labor 
organizations.  Some  of  them,  like  the  "Supreme 
Mechanical  Order  of  the  Sun,"  were  secret  socie- 
ties with  various  degrees,  extensive  ritual,  signs 
and  pass  words.  During  the  war  production  was 
greatly  stimulated,  new  and  improved  machinery  was 
introduced.  When  the  war  was  over  the  disbanded 
soldiers  of  our  great  armies  were  added  to  the  army 
of  workmen.  Every  avenue  of  production  was  thus 
overcrowded,  at  the  same  time  that  the  waste  of  ma- 
terial the  result  of  war  was  stopped.  The  result  was 
made  manifest  a  few  years  later  in  the  terrible  busi- 
ness depression,  which  with  but  a  few  years  of  respite 
has  been  our  condition  since.  This  depression  how- 
ever was  simply  hastened   forward   by  the   war,  and 


370  LABOR    ORGANIZATIONS. 

perhaps  rendered  more  intense  for  a  few  years,  but 
in  the  chapters  that  have  preceded  this  we  have  shown 
that  so-called  business  depressions  are  the  inevitable 
consequences  of  continued  advance  in  culture  and 
learning,  conjoined  with  our  present  capitalist  mode 
of  production. 

But  as  a  consequence  of  the  state  of  things  im- 
mediately following  the  Civil  War,  we  find  labor 
movement  very  active.  Isolated  unions  and  associa- 
tions came  more  aitd  more  to  see  the  necessity  of 
amalgamation.  An  active  propaganda  was  aroused, 
and  new  organizations  were  continually  multiplying. 
From  thirty  to  forty  national  and  international  trades 
unions  and  amalgamated  societies  were  in  existence 
in  1866,  some  of  them  numbering  tens  of  thousands 
of  men.  A  national  congress  of  over  one  hundred 
delegates  met  in  Baltimore  in  August.  By  this  time 
the  movement  in  favor  of  eight  hours  a  day  had  be- 
come a  very  popular  one.  The  history  of  the  agita- 
tion for  a  further  reduction  of  labor  time  from  ten  to 
eight  hours  per  day  is  going  exactly  the  same  chan- 
nels as  the  older  agitations  for  ten  hours  per  day,  and 
it  is  moving  quite  as  rapidly  towards  a  successful 
solution  of  the  problem. 

Probably  from  that  time  to  the  present,  the  his- 
tory of  the  labor  movement  is  best  given  in  consider- 
ing some  special  organizations  that  stand  out  with 
great  prominence.  Before  turning  to  them  it  might 
be  well  to  state  that   though   labor  organizations  of 


LABOR    ORGANIZATIONS.  371 

various  kinds  have  accomplished  considerable  in  this 
country,  yet  much  remains  to  be  done.  And  further 
a  great  struggle  is  now  before  them.  Capital  is 
organized  as  it  never  was  before,  and  it  shows  every 
inclination  to  force  labor  to  abandon  its  organization. 
In  the  case  of  Coal  Valley,  Illinois,  the  miners  were 
compelled  to  abandon  their  organization  before  resum- 
ing work.  Many  instances  can  be  given  similar  to 
this.  In  Ohio  the  pottery  makers  at  East  Liverpool 
were  locked  out  simply  because  they  organized  a 
lodge  of  "Knights  of  Labor."  Everything  was  going 
on  smoothly,  there  was  no  dispute  as  to  wages,  no 
strike  was  contemplated,  but  the  men  were  refused 
work  because  they  had  organized.  So  in  the  case  of 
the  New  York  Central  in  1890,  the  men  could  only 
return  to  work  by  giving  up  their  organization.  This 
point  will  have  to  be  decided  on  sooner  or  later. 

It  is  of  course  evident  that  to  go  into  any  de- 
tailed account  of  the  various  labor  organizations 
would  require  a  volume  by  itself.  This  is  not  neces- 
sary, either,  their  general  history  has  so  many  points 
in  common.  The  general  claim  and  objects  of  "trade 
unions"  in  this  country,  as  in  England,  is  to  afford 
mutual  protection,  comfort  and  assistance  to  their 
members.  And  there  is  no  doubt  whatever  that  the 
organizations  are  a  power  for  good  in  that  they  seek  to 
elevate  the  character  of  their  members.  As  success- 
ful an  organization  as  any  we  have  in  this  country,  is 
the  "Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers."     "In  a 


372  LABOR    ORGANIZATIONS. 

general  way  it  may  be  said  that  the  idea  most  promi- 
nent in  the  constitution,  and  which  is  repeated  with 
emphasis  in  every  annual  address  of  the  chief  is  that 
members  of  the  brotherhood  shall  aim  to  reach  a  high 
standard  of  ability  as  engineers  and  of  character  as 
men  well  fitted  to  the  important  and  responsible  na- 
ture of  their  occupation,  thus  entitling  them  to  liberal 
compensation,  which  should  be  insisted  upon  by  all 
legitimate  means.  Argument,  the  true  worth  of  able 
and  competent  men,  and  the  highest  and  best  interests 
of  the  companies  themselves,  rather  than  strikes, 
were  at  first,  always  have  been,  and  are  now,  the 
means  on  which  the  brotherhood  has  relied  to  main- 
tain the  justice  of  its  requests  at  the  hands  of  the 
railroad  company." 

With  such  principles  to  guide  them  it  is  not  sin- 
gular that  the  order  has  been  an  eminently  successful 
one.  It  has  not  been  thirty  years  in  existence,  yet 
by  far  the  larger  number  of  locomotive  engineers  of 
this  country  are  members  of  the  order.  Its  perma- 
nent headquarters  are  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  its  lodges 
are  scattered  all  over  the  country.  The  strikes  in 
which  the  Brotherhood  have  been  engaged  have  been 
comparatively  few.  In  general  the  men  first  ex- 
hausted all  pacific  means  before  proceeding  to  a 
strike,  and  then  were  very  considerate  in  stopping 
the  trains  at  such  hours  as  to  cause  as  little  incon- 
venience as  possible  to  the  traveling  public.  Mr. 
Baker,    in  his  work   on   Monopolies,  thus   speaks   in 


LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS.  373 

high  terms  of  the  conduct  of  this  organization  in  the 
recent  and  great  strike  in  which  the  order  has  been 
engaged  in  Illinois. 

"Perhaps   it  was  never  so  forcibly  realized   how 
thoroughly  effective  these  labor   combinations  have 
become  and  how  completely  they  hold  the  country  at 
their  mercy,  as  in  the  strike  of  the  Locomotive  Engi- 
neers  on  the    Chicago,  Burlington   and  Quincy  Rail- 
road system  in    March,    1888.      Here    were   perhaps 
two-thirds  of  the  men  in  the  country  qualified  for  the 
responsible   and  onerous  work  of  running  a  locomo- 
tive engine  firmly  banded  together  to  advance  their 
own  interests  and  to  secure  assent  to  their  demands. 
Granted  the  will,  the  courage,   the  discipline,  and  it 
was  possible,  yes,  easy,  for  them  to  have  obliged  the 
railroads  to  raise  the  wages  of  every  engineer  in  the 
brotherhood  to  ten  dollars  per  day,    for  on  a  refusal 
they    could    have    enforced    the    extreme    penalty  of 
bringing  down  a  total  paralysis  upon  the  business  of 
the  country.      It  speaks  volumes  for  the  good  sense, 
the  honesty  and  and  moderation  of  the  men  and  their 
leaders,  that   notwithstanding   the   fact  that  their  de- 
mands   were    not    immoderate,   and   that   the    failure 
which  came  permanently  deprived  of  a  remunerative 
position  a  thousand  members  of  their  brotherhood, 
they  refrained  from  the   extreme  to  which  they  might 
easily  have  gone,  and  permitted  themselves  to  be  de- 
feated when  they  had  the  power  to  have  forced  a  dif- 
ferent result." 


374  LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS. 

The  brotherhood  is  what  its  name  implies.  They 
have  an  insurance  association  conducted  on  the  as- 
sessment plan.  It  also  relieves  needy  members.  This 
one  sketch  is  a  sketch  of  all  labor  unions.  The  aim 
is  very  similar  in  all  to  protect  the  interests  of  their 
members.  Most  of  the  trades  have  a  national  organ- 
ization. The  laws  of  all  such  national  organizations 
are  strictly  against  permitting  the  discussion  of  sub- 
jects of  a  politcal  nature.  So  strict  was  this  rule  that 
when  efforts  were  made  by  the  legislatures  of  the  va- 
rious States  to  pass  laws  making  Trade  Unions  con- 
spiracies, the  unions  themselves  could  not  "consider 
in  their  meetings  any  plans  looking  to  the  defeat  of 
such  laws.  The  plan  adopted  to  get  over  the  diffi- 
culty was  to  organize  trades  assemblies,  composed  of 
delegates  from  trade  unions,  and  these  assemblies 
made  their  own  laws  and  prescribed  their  own  duties, 
the  principal  duty  being  to  watch  legislation. 

Various  attempts  have  been  made  to  organize  a 
general  union  of  all  the  trades.  In  1866  a  convention 
composed  of  delegates  from  trade  unions  and  trade 
assemblies  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  met  in  the 
city  of  Baltimore  and  formed  an  organization  known 
as  the  National  Labor  Union.  From  this  body  at  its 
first  meeting  came  the  first  demand  for  the  "eight 
hour  law,"  and  a  "National  Labor  Bureau."  This 
organization  went  to  pieces  on  the  question  of  form- 
ing a  political  party.  In  1873  tne  trade  unions  in 
national  convention  formed  what  was  known   as  the 


LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS.  375 

"Industrial  Congress  of  the  United  States."  This 
body  met  in  the  city  of  Cleveland  and  was  attended 
by  the  officers  of  nearly  all  the  national  trade  unions 
then  in  existence.  It  met  again  in  Rochester  in  1874, 
but  has  not  met  since  that  date.  Each  and  every 
one  of  these  national  conventions  adopted  resolutions 
deprecating  strikes,  and  urging  instead  of  strikes  the 
formation  of  co-operative  associations,  or  the  use  of 
arbitration  in  the  settlement  of  disputes.  In  1881 
another  attempt  was  made  to  unite  all  trades  in  a 
national  organization.  Thus  was  formed  the  National 
Federation  of  Trade  and  Labor  Assemblies,  which  is 
still  in  existence  and  bids  fair  to  grow  stronger  as  time 
passes. 

As  every  one  knows  there  is  in  this  country  a 
labor  organization  of  great  prominence  and  strength 
known  as  the  "Knights  of  Labor."  This  organiza- 
tion is  worthy  of  an  extended  notice,  since  it  is  not  a 
labor  union,  but  proposes  to  gather  into  one  organiza- 
tion all  laboring  people,  without  reference  to  trade, 
race,  color  or  sex.  This  organization  was  formed  in 
1869  in  Philadelphia.  It  grew  out  of  an  organiza- 
tion of  garment  cutters  which  was  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  a  trades  union.  Owing  to  the  trials  inci- 
dent to  a  trade  union,  the  jealousy  of  the  employers, 
the  danger  of  a  discharge  if  known  to  be  an  active 
member  of  such  a  body,  seven  men  agreed  to  form  a 
secret  society.  These  seven  men  were  U.  S.  Stephens, 
James  L.  Wright,  Robert  E.  Macaulay,  J.  M.  Hilsee, 

23 


376  LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS. 

William  Cook,  R,  W.  Keen.  J.  S.  Kennedy.  These 
men  met  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Wright,  subscribed 
their  names  to  the  obligations,  and  called  their  new 
organization  "Knights  of  Labor."  But  as  it  was  a 
secret  society  the  name  of  the  organization  and  its 
object  was  not  made  known.  They  met  immediately 
after  their  day's  work,  and  feeling  the  need  of  refresh- 
ments, one  of  their  number  was  appointed  to  see  that 
tea  was  made.  His  practice  of  carrying  a  tea-pot  to 
the  place  of  meeting  explains  the  nickname  which 
was  bestowed  upon  the  new  society,  the  "Tea-pot 
Society." 

Such  was  the  beginning.  The  organization  had, 
as  we  all  know,  a  phenomenal  growth.  When  the 
order  commenced  to  prosper  a  number  of  local  assem- 
blies were  reunited  in  district  assemblies,  and  finally 
a  general  assembly  reunites  the  district  assemblies. 
The  following  preamble  sets  forth  the  general  scope 
of  a  local  assembly.  "The  Local  Assembly  is  not  a 
mere  Trade-Union  or  Beneficial  Society;  it  is  more 
and  higher.  It  gathers  into  one  fold  all  branches  of 
honorable  toil,  without  regard  to  nationality,  sex, 
creed  or  color.  It  is  not  founded  simply  to  protect 
one  interest  or  to  discharge  one  duty,  be  it  ever  so 
great.  While  it  retains  and  fosters  all  the  fraternal 
characteristics  and  protection  of  the  single  trade 
union,  it  also,  by  the  multiplied  power  of  union  pro- 
tects and  assist  all.  It  aims  to  assist  members  to 
better  their  condition  morally,  socially  and  financially. 


LABOR    ORGANIZATIONS.  377 

« 

It  is  a  business  firm,  every  member  an  equal  partner, 
as  much  so  as  a  commercial  house  or  manufacturing 
establishment.  All  members  are  in  duty  bound  to 
put  in  their  equal  share  of  time  and  money.  The 
officers  elected  must  not  expect  to  ''run  it,"  and  the 
rest  of  the  partners  do  nothing,  as  in  the  case  of  mere 
societies.  While  acknowledging  that  it  is  sometimes 
necessary  to  enjoin  an  oppressor,  yet  strikes  should 
be  avoided  whenever  possible.  Strikes,  at  best,  only 
afford  temporary  relief,  and  members  should  be  edu- 
cated to  depend  upon  thorough  organization,  co- 
operation and  political  action,  and,  through  these,  the 
abolishment  of  the  wage  system.  Our  mission  can 
not  be  accomplished  in  a  day  or  generation.  Agita- 
tion, Education  and  Organization  are  all  necessary. 
Among  the  higher  duties  that  should  be  taught  in 
every  local  assembly-are  man's  inalienable  inheritance 
and  right  to  a  share,  for  use,  of  the  soil,  and  that  the 
right  to  live  carries  with  it  the  right  to  the  means  of 
living,  and  that  all  statutes  that  obstruct  or  deny 
these  rights  are  wrong,  unjust,  and  must  give  way. 
Every  member  who  has  the  right  to  vote  is  a  part  of 
the  government  in  this  country,  and  has  a  duty  to 
perform,  and  the  proper  education  necessary  to  intel- 
ligently exercise  this  right,  free  from  corrupting 
influences,  is  another  of  the  higher  duties  of  the  Local 
Assembly.  In  short,  any  action  that  will  advance  the 
cause  of  humanity,  lighten  the  burden  of  toil,  or  ele- 
vate   the   moral    and   social    condition   of   mankind, 


378  LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS. 

whether  incorporated  in  the  constitution  or  not,  is  the 
proper  scope  and  field  of  operation  of  a  Local  As- 
sembly. 

T.  V.  Powderly,  the  present  General  Master 
Workman,  the  second  man  to  hold  that  office,  ex- 
presses the  general  aim  of  the  order  in  the  following 
official  declaration  of  principles  :  "  The  alarming  de- 
velopment and  aggressiveness  of  great  capitalists  and 
corporations,  unless  checked,  will  inevitably  lead  to 
the  pauperization  and  hopeless  degradation  of  the 
toiling  masses.  It  is  imperative,  if  we  desire  to  enjoy 
the  full  blessings  of  life,  that  a  check  be  placed  upon 
unjust  accumulation  and  the  power  for  evil  of  aggre- 
gated wealth.  This  much  desired  object  can  be  ac- 
complished only  by  the  united  efforts  of  those  who 
obey  the  divine  injunction,  '  In  the  sweat  of  thy  face 
shaft  thou  eat  bread.'  Therefore  we  have  formed  the 
Order  of  Knights  of  Labor,  for  the  purpose  of  organ- 
izing and  directing  the  power  of  the  industrial  masses, 
not  as  a  political  party,  for  it  is  more — in  it  are  crys- 
talized  sentiments  and  measures  for  the  benefit  of  the 
whole  people ;  but  it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  when 
exercising  the  right  of  suffrage,  that  most  of  the  ob- 
jects herein  set  forth  can  only  be  obtained  through 
legislation,  and  that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  to  assist  in 
nominating  and  supporting  with  their  votes  only  such 
candidates  as  will  pledge  their  support  to  those  meas- 
ures, regardless  of  party ;  but  no  one  shall,  however, 
be  compelled  to  vote  with  the  majority.     And  calling 


LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS.  379 

upon  all  who  believe  in  securing  '  the  greatest  good 
to  the  greatest  number '  to  join  and  assist  us,  we  de- 
clare to  the  world  that  our  aims  are  :  First,  to  make 
industrial  and  moral  worth,  not  wealth,  the  true  stand- 
ard of  individual  and  national  greatness.  Second,  to 
secure  to  the  workers  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  wealth 
they  create,  sufficient  leisure  in  which  to  develop  their 
intellectual,  moral  and  social  faculties  ;  all  of  the  bene- 
fits, recreation  and  pleasures  of  association ;  in  a 
word,  to  enable  them  to  share  in  the  gains  and  honors 
of  advancing  civilization.-" 

There  are,  of  course,  matters  of  great  interest 
that  could  be  given  of  all  our  great  divisions  of  trade 
unions.  But  our  sole  aim  has  been  to  show  how 
generally,  both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe,  labor  is 
organized.  We  want  to  repeat  that  while  a  great 
many  think  they  can  trace  a  clear  line  of  descent  from 
the  gilds  to  the  modern  trade  unions,  yet  there  is  a 
very  real  difference  between  them.  The  one  is  the 
child  of  ancient  tribal  life  and  customs,  the  other  the 
result  of  modern  political  society  and  capitalist  pro- 
duction. 

It  is  unquestioned  that  these  organizations  have 
effected  a  great  deal.  We  have  dwelt  with,  perhaps, 
sufficient  emphasis  on  their  educative  power.  There 
is,  perhaps,  no  question  that  they  have  been  instru- 
mental in  correcting  many  petty  evils.  To  them  we 
owe  the  passage  of  many  acts  like  those  for  the  guard- 
ing of  machinery  in  factories,  the  restriction  upon  the 


380  LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS. 

employment  of  child  labor,  and  the  proper  care  for 
the  health,  comfort  and  convenience  of  employees  in 
general.  We  propose  to  speak  in  a  separate  chapter 
of  the  part  organization  has  taken  in  furthering  the 
work  of  co-operation.  Politically,  labor  has  not  chosen 
to  exert  itself,  indeed  politics  have  been  ruled  out. 
Undoubtedly  the  tendency  is  for  a  change  in  this  di- 
rection. Still  the  following  extract  may  be  said  to 
represent  the  present  attitude  of  labor  organizations. 
"  While  we  are  seeking  reforms  that  must,  in  some 
instances,  come  through  the  ballot-box,  yet  by  far, 
the  highest  motive  that  concerns  us  is  the  education 
of  the  masses  to  that  point  where  they  will  fully  see 
and  know,  not  only  their  own  wrongs  and  degradation, 
but  see  a  full  and  final  solution  of  the  labor  problem, 
and  when  this  is  attained  each  will  see  clearly  for  him- 
self in  his  own  way  the  only  path  that  leads  to  liberty 
and  equality.  When  this  advanced  point  is  once  at- 
tained, then  will  the  party  that  is  to  carry  the  desired 
measures  to  success  be  evolved.  It  will  be  evolved 
slowly  and  imperceptibly  almost.  But  that  such  will 
be  the  final  outcome  of  organization  and  education  is 
the  silver  lining  of  the  cloud  that  now  lowers  so  threat- 
eningly above  us.  When  such  a  party  does  come, 
its  name  will  not  be  the  laboring  man's  party,  or  the 
bondholder's  party,  but  the  party  of  the  people,  for 
the  people  and  by  the  people." 

One  of  the  principal  aims  of  labor  organization  is 
to  enable  the  laborers  to  procure  better  wages.    Their 


LABOR    ORGANIZATIONS.  381 

efforts  in  this  direction  have  by  no  means  been  wholly 
in  vain.  The  commissioner  of  labor  for  Ohio  tells  us, 
after  an  exhaustive  analysis  of  tables  furnished  by 
English  trade  unions  and  those  gathered  in  his  state 
that  the  tables  conclusively  show  that  "  trades 
having  the  most  powerful  and  compact  organization 
come  the  nearest  to  receiving  an  equitable  share  of 
the  joint  product  of  capital  and  labor."  And  yet,  in 
spite  of  all  the  figures  to  prove  that  some  slight  ame- 
lioration has  taken  place  in  this  direction  in  the  past, 
the  simple  fact  remains  that  not  very  much  can  be 
hoped  for  under  the  present  system.  Organized  labor 
may  be  fully  as  strong  as  organized  capital,  but  the 
very  nature  of  capitalist  production  will  prevent  any 
very  great  rise  in  wages.  Ricardo's  law  will  hold, 
trade  unions  or  not.  It  is  a  necessary  result  of  wage- 
dom.  This  is  clearly  seen  by  all  who  have  studied 
the  question. 

"Wages,"  says  Danisthorpe,  "must  and  always 
will  gravitate  to  the  inevitable  limit  in  spite  of  all  the 
temporary  tinkerings  of  trade  unions  and  of  the  legis- 
lature. As  well  try  to  elude  the  tendency  of  water  to 
find  its  level  as  that  of  wages  to  oscillate  about  the 
Ricardian  limit.  Let  us  therefore  make  up  our  minds 
to  look  forward  to  the  eternal  semi -starvation  of  the 
great  majority  of  our  fellow-countrymen  as  the  neces- 
sary consequences  of  the  laws  of  nature  or  else  set  to 
work  to  discover  some  substitute  for  wagedom."  So 
clearly  is  this  seen  that  some  of  the  wisest  labor  lead- 


382  LABOR   ORGANIZATIONS. 

ers  think  that  the  greatest  value  of  these  organizations 
lies  in  the  fact  that  they  promise  a  way  of  escape,  not 
from  low  wages,  but  from  wagedom  itself.  Let  us,  for 
instance,  notice  what  Master  Workman  Powderly 
says  on  this  subject.  "  So  long  as  the  present  order 
of  things  exists,  just  so  long  will  the  attempt  to  make 
peace  between  the  man  who  sells  and  the  man  who 
buys  labor  be  fruitless.  This  is  the  system  which 
carries  with  it  into  the  work  shop,  the  mine  and  the 
factory  a  host  of  evils  .  .  .  To  point  out  a  way  to  de- 
stroy this  system  would  be  a  pleasure  to  me.  I  can 
only  direct  your  attention  to  it  and  leave  the  rest  to 
your  wisdom  ;  and  I  firmly  believe  that  I  have  pointed 
out  the  most  vicious  of  all  evils  which  afflict  labor  to- 
day. The  wage-system,  at  its  inception,  was  but  an 
experiment,  and  doubts  were  entertained  as  to  its 
adoption,  but  the  avaricious  eye  of  the  Shylock  of 
labor  saw  in  it  a  weapon  with  which  he  could  strike 
the  toiler  to  the  dust.  Without  organization  we  can 
not  accomplish  anything,  through  it  we  hope  to  forever 
banish  that  curse  of  modern  civilization  —  Wage- 
slavery." 

In  the  preceding  chapter  we  set  forth  the  wonder- 
ful combination  of  capital.  We  have  now  witnessed 
the  development  of  combination  in  an  opposite  direc- 
tion. In  the  following  chapter  we  shall  trace  the  same 
tendency  and  its  results  in  the  field  of  agricultural 
labor.  These  mighty  organizations  but  foreshadow 
some  coming  change. 


THE    FARMERS     MOVEMENT. 


383 


COPTER  Xlll. 

THE    FARMERS'    MOVEMENT. 

The  Importance  of  the  Movement — The  Eicardian  Law  and 
Agriculture  — The  Necessity  of  Combination — The  General  Nature 
of  the  Various  Farmer  Organizations — Plan  of 
Work — Conclusion. 


ORGANIZATION,  under  various 
different  names,  of  those  interested 
in  agricultural  pursuits  is  the  most 
striking  feature  of  the  labor  problem 
in  recent  years.  According  to  the 
census  of  1880,  nearly  eight  million  people 
in  the  United  States,  forty-four  per  cent. 
of  all  those  engaged  in  any  occupation  at  all,  were  in- 
terested in  agriculture.  If  the  same  proportion  has 
been  maintained  not  far  from  ten  million  people  are 
so  engaged  now.  Now,  here  we  have  a  large  and 
respectable  body  of  our  fellow-citizens  earnestly  con- 
sidering ways  and  means  to  secure  for  themselves  a 
larger  share  of  the  wealth  their  labor  actually  creates. 
We  have  maintained  that  there  is  something  very  like 
the  Ricardian  law  of  wages  at  work  in  the  farmers' 
case  as  well  as  the  laborers.  The  law,  briefly  stated, 
is  that  under  the  system  of  paying  wages,  or  wagedom, 
the  wages  of  labor  tend  to  sink  to  just  what  will  give 


384  the  farmers'  movement. 

the  laborer  a  subsistence.  In  reference  to  agriculture 
the  law  may  be  stated  somewhat  as  follows :  In  any 
country  where  the  food  supply  of  the  people  can  be 
easily  and  abundantly  raised,  where  land  is  new,  vast 
tracts  of  it  as  yet  not  devoted  to  tillage,  the  value  of 
the  produce  raised  by  the  agricultural  laborer  tends  to 
sink  to  the  level  which  will  just  about  furnish  him  a 
living. 

We  do  not  see  how  this  statement  can  be  suc- 
cessfully controverted.  We  have  illustrated  it  by 
reference  to  official  figures  from  the  tenth  census. 
Certainly  the  fact  is  as  stated.  We  may  differ  as 
much  as  we  please  as  to  the  causes  at  work  to  bring 
about  this  result.  We  may  lay  it  to  tariff  legislation, 
to  financial  measures,  to  class  laws,  or  what  not,  there 
is  no  dispute  as  to  the  fact  that  in  this  country  the 
people  engaged  in  agriculture  can  but  barely  ma"ke 
ends  meet.  We  have  not  hesitated  to  assert  that  the 
real  underlying  cause  is  that  as  at  present  considered 
labor  itself  is  but  a  commodity.  And  consequently, 
whether  we  are  talking  about  agricultural  labor,  or 
labor  of  any  other  sort,  it  matters  not  what,  all  that 
will  be  paid  for  that  labor  will  be  simply  what  will 
support  the  laborer.  That  point  is,  however,  not  now 
under  consideration. 

We  have  seen  how,  at  the  present  day,  the  ten- 
dency is  for  capital  to  combine,  organize  and  concen- 
trate. We  have  noticed  in  the  preceding  chapter  how 
labor  generally  has  sought  to  improve  its  condition  by 


THE  farmers'  movement.  385 

combination,  how  the  numerous  trade  unions  unite  in 
bodies  having  national  jurisdiction,  how  all  labor  seeks 
to  unite  in  a  vast  labor  confederation.  Let  us  now 
inquire  what  the  great  agricultural  interest  of  our  land 
proposes  to  do  in  this  same  direction.  It  would  in- 
deed be  passing  strange  if  they,  too,  did  not  seek  to 
ward  off  the  evils  under  which  they  suffer,  if  they  also 
did  not  seek  to  utilize  the  united  strength  of  combina- 
tion. The  laborers  hope,  by  presenting  a  bold,  united 
front,  to  force  certain  concessions  from  capital,  and,  as 
we  have  seen,  the  more  far-seeing  leaders  trust  to 
overthrow  the  whole  system  of  wagedom.  At  present 
the  agricultural  workers  of  this  country  are  combining 
to  counteract  the  combination  of  capital.  They  believe 
that  the  unequal  distribution  of  wealth  is  rendered 
possible  by  the  excellent  combination  of  capital.  They 
wish  to  do  away  with  trusts,  though  it  must  be  added 
that  they  are  now,  to  some  extent,  embracing  that 
form  of  an  organization  themselves,  on  the  principle 
of  fighting  fire  with  fire.  They  also  believe  that  the 
course  of  legislation  in  this  country  has  been  in  favor 
of  capital.  This  they  wish  to  change,  at  least,  to 
equalize.  Their  motto  is,  no  class  legislation,  but 
equal  rights  for  all. 

Mr.  Ashby,  lecturer  for  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance,  thus  states  the  necessity  for  organization : 
"  Unequal  distribution  of  wealth  has  been  brought 
about  by  organization  in  the  field  of  money-capital, 
uncounterbalanced    by  organization   of   land-capital. 


386  the  farmers'  movement. 

The  trust  is  nothing  more  than  the  centralization  of 
organized  money-capital,  the  trade  combine  is  the 
organization  of  the  capital  employed  by  handlers ; 
the  pool  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  centralized  capital 
which  controls  the  railways.  Turn  to  which  hand  you 
will,  among  the  professions,  and  avocations  which  lie 
outside  the  farm  but  draw  their  subsistence  from  feed- 
ing upon  the  wealth  produced  by  the  farmer,  and 
they  are  all  organized.  The  inequitable  features  de- 
veloped by  this  one-sided  organization  of  the  forces 
which  control  the  industrial  conditions,  have  made  the 
crying  need  for  the  reforms  advocated  in  the  land, 
transportation,  money,  and  tax  polices  of  our  govern- 
ment which  can  only  be  secured  by  such  organization 
among  producers  as  will  counterbalance  the  influences 
now  at  work  in  perpetuating  these  policies." 

It  is  not  singular  then  that  various  forms  of  or^ 
ganization  have  been  adopted  by  the  farmers  of  the 
land.  On  the  whole,  the  general  aim  of  these  organ- 
izations is  the  same  in  all.  There  are  of  course  local 
elements  which  effect  the  problem.  The  wants  of 
cotton  growers  are  not  in  all  respects  identical  with 
the  grain  growers.  It  would  be  singular  if  amongst 
all  the  measures  suggested  for  relief  there  were  not 
some  which  were  supported  by  but  a  portion  of  the 
organizations.  For  instance,  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  earnestly  advocates 
what  is  known  at  the  Sub-Treasury  plan.  The  Na- 
tional Farmers'  Alliance  of  the   North  are  not,  as  a 


THE  farmers'  movement.  387 

general  rule,  at  least,  in  favor  of  it.  The  organiza- 
tions also  differ  in  the  degree  of  concentration  of 
power,  in  methods  of  work,  some  being  more  or  less 
secret.  But  for  all  that  the  general  purpose  and 
plan  of  action  is  the  same  in  all.  A  very  important 
element  in  all  farmers  organizations  is  the  co-opera- 
tive feature  of  self-help  ;  this  being  a  most  important 
subject  for  all.  We  can  not  do  better  than  to  present 
a  brief  history  and  give  a  short  outline  of  the  present 
condition,  plans  and  purposes  of  the  various  farmers 
organizations. 

These  organizations  are  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  of  the  West  and  Northwest,  the  National 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  of  the  South 
and  Southwest,  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Associa- 
tions of  Illinois  and  Indiana,  the  Patrons  of  Industry 
in  Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  and  the  Farmers'  League 
in  the  Middle  and  Eastern  States.  But  this  last 
organization  is  a  political  one  and  so  works  in  sym- 
pathy with  all  others.  It  is  not  to  be  understood 
that  there  is  any  geographical  division  of  territory 
among  these  bodies,  but  that  the  prevailing  form  of 
organization  in  each  of  our  great  sections  of  country 
is  as  above  indicated. 

As  far  as  possible  we  desire  to  let  each  organiza- 
tion speak  for  itself  through  some  one  of  its  promi- 
nent officers.  Their  aim  is  to  briefly  and  clearly  set 
forth  the  purposes  which  they  hope  to  achieve,  the 
methods  of  work  and  the  present  results.  This  course 


388  THE  farmers'  movement. 

affords  to  the  farmers  of  our  land  a  chance  to  com- 
pare the  working  machinery  of  the  various  farmer 
organizations.  It  will  also  afford  a  most  gratifying 
evidence  that  they  are  all  working  on  substantially 
the  same  lines,  and  clearly  foreshadows  a  practical 
union  of  all.  It  will  also  afford  them  a  basis  on  which 
to  estimate  the  strength,  morally  and  political,  of  the 
great  movement  now  sweeping  over  the  land,  and 
give  them  most  cheering  evidence  of  substantial  re- 
sults sure  to  come  in  the  near  future.  The  student 
of  history  who  contemplates  the  various  industrial 
movements  of  the  past  can  not  fail  to  be  profoundly 
impressed  with  the  great  labor  organizations  of  to- 
day, and  still  more  will  he  be  impressed  with  the  won- 
derful combinations  of  those  engaged  in  agriculture. 
It  is  a  most  cheering  sign  of  the  times.  It  is  this 
which  bids  fair  to  dispel  the  clouds  now  darkly  low- 
ering in  the  social  sky.  We  hope  all,  whether  far- 
mers or  not,  will  carefully  consider  the  articles  that 
follow. 


MOULTON,  IA. 
390  SEC'Y    NATIONAL    FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 


THE  NATIONAL    FARMERS    ALLIANCE. 


391 


COPTER  X1Y* 

THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS'    ALLIANCE, 

—  BY  — 

AUGUST  POST,  National  Secretary. 

What  the  Alliance  is — The  Objects  of  the  Alliance — Results — 
Methods — Principle  of  Non-Partisanship — Declaration  of  Pur- 
poses— Officers — Aims — Resolutions — Different  Alliances — Pream 
ble  of  the  Iowa  State  Alliance — Objects  of  the  same — Who  may- 
Join — Nature  of  all  Alliance  Bodies — How  to  Organize — The 
Peculiar  Nature  of  the  Farmers'  Calling — The 
Farmers'  Needs — Present  Results. 

NATIONAL  Farmers'  Alliance  is, 
as  the  name  denotes,  a  national 
organization  of  farmers,  having  for 
its  object  the  promotion  of  the  inter- 
terests  of  agriculture.  The  reason 
existence  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact 
this  is  an  age  of  organization — an  age 
in  which  important  results  are  accomplished  only  by 
massing  forces  that  can  be  bound  together  upon  the 
basis  of  similarity  of  circumstances  and  commnnity 
of  interest.  It  is  believed  that  the  influence  to  which 
the  magnitude  and  importance  of  agriculture  entitles 
it  can  only  be  exerted  through  the  principle  of  organ- 


392  THE   NATIONAL  FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 

ization,  and  that  it  is  only  thus  that  farmers  can  favor- 
ably affect  the  social  and  economic  conditions  which 
so  vitally  concern  them.  It  is  believed,  further,  that 
the  general  public  does  not  desire  to  be  unjust,  and 
would  not  willingly  deny  to  so  important  a  section  of 
industry  as  agriculture  any  fair  and  well-considered 
demand  which  farmers  regard  as  essential  or  advanta- 
geous to  their  welfare.  Organization  affords  oppor- 
tunity for  such  intelligent  discussion  as  shall  furnish  a 
reasonable  assurance  that  the  demands  that  may  be 
made  are  fair  and  well  considered,  and  also  supply  a 
voice  which,  to  some  extent  at  least,  can  give  au- 
thoritative expression  to  the  farmer's  wishes  and  needs, 
after  they  have  been  formulated.  These  are  some  of 
the  considerations — and  only  some  of  them — which 
render  organization  by  the  farmers  of  the  country  de- 
sirable, not  only  for  their  own  sake,  but  for  the  sake 
of  the  public.  Mere  unrest  and  discontent  without 
definite  expression  of  grounds  of  complaint  has  never 
yet  righted  a  wrong  or  removed  a  grievance. 

The  object,  then,  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alli- 
ance is  to  secure  unity  of  action,  after  full  and  intelli- 
gent discussion,  for  the  promotion  of  such  reforms  as 
may  be  necessary  to  the  bettering  of  the  farmers'  con- 
dition. It  covers  a  broad  field  and  nothing  that  can 
advance  the  welfare  of  the  farm  or  the  farmer  is  for- 
eign to  it.  Naturally,  purposes  so  extensive  cannot 
be  described  in  detail  in  word.  They  include  refor- 
mation in  economics,  the  dissemination  of  principles 


THE   NATIONAL   FARMERS'  ALLIANCE.  393 

calculated  to  encourage  and  foster  agricultural  pursuits 
and  to  secure  to  those  engaged  in  them  their  just 
share  of  the  returns  from  the  soil,  the  education  of  the 
agricultural  classes  in  just  ideas  of  government,  oppo- 
sition to  monopoly,  the  inculcation  of  the  belief  in  the 
dignity  and  worth  of  the  pursuits  of  agriculture,  the 
discussion  of  all  topics  relating  to  the  farm,  whether 
directly,  as  in  the  case  of  crops,  grasses,  feeding, 
breeding,  etc.,  or  more  remotely,  as  in  the  case  of 
transportation,  markets,  supply  and  demand,  and  the 
like.  The  principle  of  co-operation  in  purchasing  is 
one  to  which  the  Alliance  devotes  much  attention,  and 
with  good  results,  and  it  seeks,  by  every  legitimate 
means,  to  so  influence  legislation  as  to  secure  justice 
from  railroads  and  transportation  companies,  to  abolish 
special  privileges  to  the  few,  to  prevent  food  adultera- 
tions injurious  alike  to  consumer  and  producer,  to  in- 
crease markets  at  home  and  abroad,  and  to  crush  out 
such  combinations  as  tend  to  destroy  legitimate  trad- 
ing under  the  laws  of  competition  and  supply  and 
demand. 

With  these  purposes  in  view  the  National  Farm- 
ers' Alliance  has  organized  State  Alliances  in  thirteen 
of  the  states  of  the  Union,  and  has  in  process  of  or- 
ganization five  other  states,  with  numerous  local  Alli- 
ances in  still  other  states  where  the  body  is  not  yet 
strong  enough  to  warrant  state  organization.  The 
plan  of  organization  consists  of  the  National  Alliance 
at  the  head,  with  state  organization  auxiliary  to  it,  and 

24 


394  THE   NATIONAL   FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 

those  in  turn  have  subordinate  Alliances  under  their 
jurisdiction,  both  county  and  local.  Thus  far  it  is  al- 
most wholly  located  in  the  Northern  States,  and  its 
headquarters  and  business  office  are  at  Moulton,  Iowa. 

Its  methods  are  non-partisan.  It  believes  that, 
however  interested  individuals,  professional  politicians 
and  some  partisan  leaders  may  feel,  the  vast  majority 
of  the  people  of  all  parties  want  to  do  right.  It  be- 
lieves that  the  Alliance  principles  are  right  and  only 
need  agitation  and  discussion  to  commend  them  to  the 
masses  of  the  parties. 

The  following  is  Section  I,  of  Article  XII,  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  Iowa  Farmers'  Alliance,  and  is 
practically  the  same  as  is  contained  in  the  constitu- 
tions of  all  the  state  bodies  organized  under  the  au- 
spices of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance. 

ARTICLE  XII. 

Section  i  .  This  organization  is  strictly  non-par- 
tisan in  its  methods.  It  is  recommended,  however, 
each  member  use  his  utmost  influence  in  the  political 
party  of  his  choice  to  secure  the  nomination  of  candi- 
dates for  congressional  or  legislative  honors,  commited 
to  Alliance  principles. 

The  principle  of  non-partisanship  it  has  never 
abandoned,  even  temporally,  and  in  Iowa,  where  it 
has  perhaps  accomplished  most,  it  has  never  had  a 
political  ticket  in  the  fiel  the  annual  meeting 

In  September,  1889,  it  formmawsd  a  number  of  legiti- 


THE   NATIONAL  FARMERS'  ALLIANCE.  395 

mate  demands,  quite  a  number  of  which  were  com- 
plied with  at  the  last  session  of  the  legislature,  as  for 
example,  in  the  passage  of  the  law  authorizing  and 
requiring  the  making  of  joint  tariffs  upon  railroad 
traffic,  the  reduction  of  legal  contract  interest  to  eight 
per  cent,  the  passage  of  a  school  text  book  law,  the 
law  against  trusts  and  trade  conspiracies,  and  many 
others.  Upon  the  same  non-partisan  lines  the  Alli- 
ance was  chiefly  instrumental  in  securing  at  the  hands 
of  the  previous  legislature  in  the  adoption  of  our 
present  system  of  railway  control,  which  includes  an 
electric  railway  commission  with  power  to  fix  rates,  a 
system  which,  however  combatted  when  first  proposed, 
no  one  would  now  be  willing  to  abandon,  unless  for 
something  very  clearly  known  to  be  better. 

The  National  Alliance  has  of  course  adopted  a 
constitution  and  plan  of  work.  The  objects  which 
they  desire  to  accomplish  are  set  forth  as  follows : 

DECLARATION  OF  PURPOSES. 

Profoundly  impressed  that  we,  the  National  Far- 
mers' Alliance,  united  by  the  strong  ties  of  common 
interests,  should  set  forth  our  declarations  of  inten- 
tions ;  we  therefore  resolve : 

To  strive  to  secure  the  establishment  of  right  and 
justice  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity. 

To  labor  for  the  education  of  the  agricultural 
classes  in  the  science  of  economical  government  in  a 
strictly  non-partisan  spirit. 


396  THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS*  ALLIANCE. 

To  endorse  the  motto,  "  In  things  essential,  unity; 
in  all  things,  charity." 

To  secure  purity  of  the  election  franchise,  to 
induce  all  voters  to  intelligently  exercise  it  for  the 
enactment  and  execution  of  laws  which  shall  express 
the  just  and  equal  rights  of  all  classes  of  citizens. 

To  develop  a  better  state,  mentally,  morally, 
socially  and  financially. 

To  constantly  strive  to  secure  entire  harmony 
and  good  will  among  all  mankind  and  brotherly  love 
among  ourselves. 

To  suppress  personal,  local,  sectional  and  na- 
tional prejudices,  all  unhealthy  rivalry  and  all  selfish 
ambition. 

The  National  Alliance  of  course  elects  the  usual 
officers  to  be  found  in  such  assemblies.  Its  constitu- 
tion prescribes  the  fees,  the  basis  of  representation 
from  the  subordinate  alliances,  the  granting  of  char- 
ters, time  of  holding  their  annual  meetings,  etc.  It 
is  a  very  simple  representative  body.  At  the  Des 
Moines  convention  in  1888,  the  following  resolutions 
were  adopted,  which  sets  in  a  clear  light  the  aims  of 
the  Alliance: 

Whereas,  The  farmers  of  the  United  States  are 
most  in  number  of  any  order  of  citizens,  and  with 
other  productive  classes  have  freely  given  of  their 
blood  to  found  and  maintain  the  nation. 

Whereas,  Experience  has  taught  us  that  in  the 
great  plain  people  is  our  country's  sure  hope  in  time 


THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS'    ALLIANCE.  397 

of  need  and  that  salvation  from  peril  must  be  wrought 
out  by  their  loyal  faith  and  willing  sacrifices. 

Whereas,  We  recognize  in  these  troubled  times 
the  need  of  appealing  to  the  higher  nature  of  men, 
that  they  may  seal  anew  their  belief  in  the  holiness 
of  self-sacrifice  and  the  meanness  of  greed,  and  thus 
be  ready  to  give  just  condemnation  to  whomsoever 
makes  selfish  spoil  of  the  substance  of  the  people,  whe- 
ther it  be  great  capitalists  or  industrial  corporations. 

Whereas,  Many  reforms  are  needed,  and  we  ask 
for  legislation  and  enforcement  of  law  to  bring  them 
about,  and  we  demand  the  passage  of  these  meas- 
ures, not  in  the  name  of  any  party,  but  in  the  name 
of  justice,  in  the  name  of  the  people. 

Resolved,  That  the  productive  classes  should  have 
no  interest  in  the  factional  wars  that  are  waged  for 
place  alone  by  professional  partisans,  while  righteous 
reforms  languish  for  lack  of  unity  among  honorable 
and  patriotic  men. 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  the  passage  of 
such  laws  by  the  national  government  as  will  prohibit 
the  manufacture  and  sale  of  all  intoxicating  bever- 
ages within  the  borders  of  the  United  States  under 
severe  penalty. 

Resolved,  That  the  executive  committee  draw 
and  forward  to  the  United  States  Congress  a  memo- 
rial asking  the  speedy  passage,  unamended,  of  the 
house  bill  forfeiting  54,000,000  acres  of  unearned 
Union  Pacific  land. 


398  THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS'    ALLIANCE. 

Resolved  That  we  favor  the  taking  of  such  steps 
by  Congress  as  shall  forfeit  to  the  general  govern- 
ment all  lands  granted  to  railroad  corporations  which 
are  not  yet  earned  and  time  for  earning  of  which  has 
expired. 

Resolved,  That  we  favor  the  repeal  of  all  laws 
granting  appropriations  of  public  lands  for  building 
any  railroads  or  other  purposes  when  the  construction 
of  the  improvement  to  be  accomplished  has  not  been 
entered  upon. 

Resolved,  That  the  general  government  should 
own  and  operate  under  the  postal  service  a  public 
system  of  telegraph  and  telephone  lines. 

Resolved,  That  we  favor  the  plan  of  building  a 
deeper  water  harbor  on  our  southern  coast,  and  the 
early  completion  of  the  Hennepin  Canal,  and  the 
opening  of  feasible  water-ways. 

Resolved  That  the  public  welfare  demands  that 
the  Inter-State  Commerce  Law  be  kept  intact,  and 
we  protest  against  the  repeal  of  the  pooling  clause, 
and  condemn  as  vicious  the  clamor  raised  by  the 
railroad  corporations  for  the  legalizing  of  pools.  We 
favor  even  more  restrictive  measures.  The  proposed 
plan  of  making  the  foreign  corporations  subject  to 
the  State  courts  in  the  States  where  they  do  business 
and  depriving  them  of  the  power  to  remove  these 
cases  to  the  United  States  courts  meets  approval. 

Resolved.  That  we  believe  in  so  amending  the 
Public  School  System  that  the  education  of  our  chil- 


THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS'  ALLIANCE.  399 

dren  shall  be  of  practical  help  to  them  in  after  life. 
The  theoretical  plan  that  now  obtains  intects  many 
with  the  idea  that  physical  labor  is  not  genteel.  This 
sentiment  tends  to  create  a  helpless  class,  whose  in- 
evitable drift  is  towards  an  almshouse  and  prison. 
Our  country  needs  an  educational  system,  based  on 
moral,  manual  and  intellectual  training  that  inculcates 
the  essential  dignity  and  necessity  of  honest  labor. 

Resolved,  That  the  agricultural  colleges  magnifi- 
cently endowed  by  government  and  dedicated  to  the 
purposes  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  should 
be  held  faithfully  to  the  conditions  of  the  grants,  and 
as  they  have  in  many  cases  been  diverted,  we  de- 
mand that  they  be  restored,  and  held  to  the  high 
purpose  of  their  creation,  in  ministering  to  and  enno- 
bling industry. 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  the  valuable  service 
rendered  by  Congress  in  the  legislation  against  the 
bogus  butter  fraud,  and  that  we  demand  the  faithful 
execution  of  the  law,  and  ask  for  further  legislation 
to  prevent  adulteration  of  all  food  products. 

Resolved,  That  we  sympathize  with  the  just  de- 
mand of  labor  of  every  class,  and  recognize  that 
many  of  the  evils  from  which  the  farming  community 
suffers  oppress  universal  labor,  and  that,  therefore, 
producers  should  unite  in  a  demand  for  the  reform  of 
unjust  systems,  and  the  repeal  of  laws  that  bear  un- 
equally upon  the  people. 

Resolved,  That  the  working  classes  of  this  coun- 


400  THE   NATIONAL  FARMERS*  ALLIANCE. 

try  form  the  great  conservative  and  conserving  ele- 
ment whose  power  must  stand  between  the  nation 
and  the  dangers  which  now  threaten  its  future  well- 
being,  which  come  from  the  unrestrained  greed  of  the 
influential  monopolist  who  defies  law  and  tramples 
upon  the  principles  of  justice  in  his  method  of  ac- 
quiring the  wealth  that  others  create,  and  the  less 
influential,  less  successful,  but  more  demonstrative 
rabble  who  practice  violence. 

Resolved,  That  United  States  Senators  should 
be  elected  directly  by  the  people. 

Below  the  national  organizations  are  the  various 
State  Alliances.  Their  constitutions  under  which 
they  work  are  substantially  the  same  in  all  cases.  The 
following  Preamble  and  "Objects"  of  the  Iowa  State 
Alliance  may  be  taken  as  a  representative  case. 

PREAMBLE. 

Whereas,  The  general  condition  of  our  country 
imperatively  demands  unity  of  action  on  the  part  of 
the  laboring  classes,  reformation  in  economy  and  dis- 
semination of  principles  best  calculated  to  encourage 
and  foster  agricultural  and  mechanical  pursuits,  en- 
courage the  toiling  masses — leading  them  in  the  road 
to  prosperity  and  providing  a  just  and  fair  remuner- 
ation for  labor,  a  just  exchange  for  our  commodities, 
and  the  best  means  of  securing  to  the  laboring 
classes  the  greatest  amount  of  good,  we  therefore 
adopt  the  following  as  our  declaration  of  principles: 


THE   NATIONAL   FARMERS'  ALLIANCE.  401 

i .  To  labor  for  the  education  of  the  agricultural 
classes  in  the  science  of  economical  government  in 
a  strict  non-partisan  spirit,  and  to  bring  about  a  more 
perfect  union  of  said  classes  for  the  promotion  of  their 
interests  socially,  politically  and  financially. 

i.  To  oppose  all  forms  of  monopoly  as  being 
detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  the  public,  and  to 
demand  equal  rights  for  all  and  special  favors  to  none. 

OBJECTS. 

Section  i,  The  object  of  this  Alliance  shall  be 
to  promote  the  best  interests  of  our  agricultural  peo- 
ple in  a  practical  and  legitimate  way.  First,  by  the 
inculcation  of  the  home  sentiment  with  all  its  ele- 
ments of  nobleness,  by  importuning  the  use  of  such 
educational  provisions  made  by  the  State  for  the 
intellectual  promotion  of  agriculture,  and  the  use  of 
the  best  moral,  intellectual,  agricultural  and  political 
literature  of  the  times  in  our  farm  homes ;  by  a  full 
and  free  discussion  of  blood,  theory  of  breeding, 
treatment  of  stock,  kinds  of  grasses,  cost  of  produc- 
tion, transportation,  home  or  foreign  markets,  supply 
and  demand,  and  all  other  questions  relating  to  the 
production  and  promotion  of  agriculture. 

Section  2.  To  co-operate  in  buying  and  selling 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  an  exchange  of  commo- 
dities with  the  least  possible  tax  upon  interchange. 

Section  3.  To  secure  such  representation  in  the 
State  and  National  Legislatures  as  the  importance  of 


402  THE   NATIONAL   FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 

the  agricultural  interests  warrant,  to  secure  the  strict 
legislative  control  of  railroads  in  the  interests  of  equity 
and  justice  to  the  public ;  to  crush  out  monopolies  in 
every  form,  whether  in  land,  transpostation  or  com- 
merce ;  to  crush  out  the  manufacture  of  and  traffic  in 
adulterated  food  products ;  to  protect  the  live  stock 
interests  of  the  country  against  contagious  diseases, 
and  to  protect  and  foster  agricultural  interests  in 
every  way  feasible  and  just. 

The  constitution  then  prescribes  who  may  join 
the  Alliance ;  namely,  "  Practical  and  operative 
farmers,  over  sixteen  years  of  age,  male  or  female," 
names  the  officers,  and  states  their  duties,  designates 
a  place  for  the  annual  meeting,  determines  how  dele- 
gates shall  be  appointed,  and  provides  for  the  ex- 
penses. The  County  Alliances  come  next  in  order. 
There  must  be  at  least  four  local  alliances  in  any 
county  to  entitle  it  to  organize  a  County  Alliance. 
Finally,  we  come  to  the  unit  of  organization,  the  local 
Alliance.  It  requires  seven  members  to  form  a  local 
Alliance.  The  object  of  the  local  alliance  is  stated 
officially  as  follows : 

The  objects  of  this  Alliance  shall  be  to  promote 
the  general  interests  of  its  members  socially,  finan- 
cially, politically  and  educationally,  and  to  co-operate 
through  the  State  Alliance  for  the  reforms  designed 
to  be  secured  by  the  State  Farmers'  Alliance. 

The  Alliance  from  the  national  body  down  to  the 
local  body,  is  a  very  democratic  organization,  simple 


THE   NATIONAL   FARMERS*    ALLIANCE.  403 

and  inexpensive.  The  methods  of  organizing  is 
equally  simple  ;  the  following  instructions  cover  the 
ground. 

How  shall  we  organize?  Must  we  wait  for  the 
State  Organizer  or  County  Organizer  to  come  and 
organize  us?  No.  Send  to  the  Secretary  of  the  State 
Farmers'  Alliance  to  get  constitutions,  blank  applica- 
tions, etc.  Call  a  meeting  and  get  the  farmers  and 
their  wives  whom  you  desire  as  members  to  attend. 
When  you  meet  nominate  one  of  your  number  for 
chairman  and  one  for  secretary,  and  let  the  chairman 
or  some  one  else  announce  that  the  object  of  the 
meeting  is  to  organize  a  local  Alliance  under  the 
State  Alliance.  Then  read  the  constitution  of  the 
State  Alliance  and  also  the  constitution  provided  for 
the  local  Alliance.  Discussion  will  then  be  in  order, 
and  short  speeches  may  be  called  for  from  the  farmers 
present  as  to  the  needs  of  organizing  and  advisability 
of  so  doing.  Then  the  secretary  should  take  the 
names  of  those  willing  to  organize  themselves  into  an 
Alliance.  When  all  have  signed  who  are  willing  to 
join  as  charter  members,  officers  as  provided  in  the 
constitution  should  be  elected.  Some  one  should 
move  to  adopt  the  State  and  Local  Constitutions  and 
they  should  be  adopted.  Then  the  application  for  a 
charter  should  be  made  out  according  to  the  blank 
form  which  requires  the  name  of  the  Alliance,  with 
township  and  county,  name  of  each  officer,  with  post- 
office  address,  the  total  number  of  members  and  the 


404  THE  NATIONAL   FARMERS'   ALLIANCE. 

membership  fee  for  each  male  member,  also  the  per- 
son to  whom  the  charter  and  documents  are  to  be 
sent.  When  this  making  out  in  due  form  has  been 
attended  to  the  President  should  appoint  a  committee 
on  local  laws,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  report  at  the 
next  meeting  what  further  additions  may  be  necessary 
to  those  made  obligatory  by  the  State  Alliance. 

We  have  been  at  some  pains  to  set  forth  the  ob- 
jects and  general  aim  of  this  organization,  because 
there  is  a  great  amount  of  ignorance  among  all  classes 
of  people,  except  agriculturalists,  as  to  their  plans 
and  objects.  Nothing  very  revolutionary  has  yet 
made  its  appearance,  nothing  but  what  all  classes 
of  Americans  can  join  in  wishing  them  succes.  The 
editor  of  the  "Iowa  Homestead"  has  set  forth  the 
peculiar  conditions  which  hedge  around  the  farmer 
and  his  calling,  his  isolation,  and  lack  of  leaders,  and 
then  he  shows  how  the  Alliance  tends  to  remedy  this 
evil  by  bringing  farmers  together,  to  discuss  their 
own  peculiar  interests,  to  develop  a  farm  spirit  and  a 
farm  leadership.  It  brings  up  for  discussion  only 
those  questions  which  concerns  farms  and  farmers, 
but  it  excludes  none  of  these.  It  tolerates  the  utmost 
freedom  of  discussion  and  the  widest  latitude  of  opin- 
ion, It  aims  to  bring  farmers  together,  united  by  a 
common  interest  and  for  a  common  purpose.  It  aims 
to  form  a  public  opinion  that  will  be  a  bulwark  against 
attempted  oppression.  It  aims  to  develop  a  great 
middle  class,  combining  in  each  individual  the  capital- 


THE   NATIONAL   FAEMERs'  ALLIANCE.  405 

ist  and  the  laborer,  that  will  act  as  umpire  by  its 
political  influence  between  the  mere  capitalist  and  the 
mere  laborer,  and  by  its  numbers  and  power  compel 
obedience  to  its  decrees.  It  teaches  the  dependence 
of  all  classes  on  each  other,  the  value  of  the  manu- 
facturer and  the  miner  to  the  farmer,  and  the  value  of 
the  farmer  to  the  miner  and  manufacturer.  It  recog- 
nizes the  value  of  vast  aggregations  of  capital  to 
conducting  great  enterprises  which  no  single  individ- 
ual or  partnership  can  manage,  and  regards  the  bond 
or  stock  of  the  railroad,  when  representing  actual 
cash,  every  whit  as  sacred  as  the  share  in  a  town  lot 
or  a  farm.  There  is  no  war  between  the  Eastern 
investor  and  the  Western  farmer.  The  Alliance  does 
not  teach  that  property  in  railroads  is  sacred  if  in  the 
shape  of  watered  stock,  nor  does  it  regard  shares  in 
a  farm  as  sacred  if  issued  to  twice  the  value  of  the 
farm.  It  does  not  ask  that  a  combination  of  farmers 
be  legalized  to  sell  wheat  or  corn  at  twice  the  actual 
value  that  it  would  have  under  free  competition,  and 
it  will  fight  to  the  bitter  end  any  proposition  to  legal- 
ize pooling  and  combination  of  railroads  and  manu- 
facturers to  fleece  the  general  public. 

They  need  an  institution  of  their  own  where  they 
can  meet  and  consult  with  each  other  about  best 
methods  of  farming,  stock  breeding,  buying  and  sell- 
ing, about  the  reasonableness  and  unreasonableness 
of  profits  and  fares  and  freights  and  any  other  ques- 
tion that  may  concern  agriculture  or  any  other  indus- 


406  THE   NATIONAL   FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 

trial  interest.  The  Alliance  counteracts,  as  far  as  it 
can  be  counteracted,  the  effects  of  the  isolation  of  farm 
life,  it  cultivates  the  farm  spirit,  it  teaches  farmers  to 
believe  in  each  other,  to  trust  each  other,  to  be  just 
to  each  other  and  in  so  doing  be  just  to  all.  It  is  but 
in  the  small  beginning  of  its  career.  It  is  the  creature 
of  an  imperative  necessity  just  beginning  to  be  recog- 
nized. The  farmers  of  America  have  a  goodly  herit- 
age. They  are  not  slaves,  nor  peons,  nor  paupers 
They  are  not  yet  bankrupted  by  extortions,  but  they 
will  not  tolerate  evils  that  will  grow,  unless  checked 
with  the  passing  years,  and  become  a  bondage  too 
intolerable  to  be  endured  by  a  free  people. 

Practically  the  Alliance  has  already  accomplished 
a  great  work,  according  to  the  Western  Rural  it  has 
been  the  means  of  restoring  no  less  than  thirty-one 
million  acres  of  land  to  the  public  domain.  It  has 
saved  a  vast  amount  of  money  to  the  farmers  by 
breaking  the  millers  and  elevator  rings,  and  by  its  co- 
operative buying  and  selling.  Although  it  is  non-par- 
tisan it  is  but  natural  that  its  members  should  vote  for 
those  who  are  personally  interested  in  the  success  of 
its  movement.  It  is  now  in  a  very  prosperous  state. 
The  measures  they  advocate  are  not  at  all  startling, 
they  wish  to  break  down  monopolies,  to  equalize  tax- 
ation and  to  improve  their  condition,  but  not  at  the 
expense  of  any  other  classes,  they  ask  for  no  class 
legislation  in  their  behalf. 


^---^C«_-t_-^^> 


MT.    VERNON,    ILL. 
SEC'Y  FARMERS'  MUTUAL  BENEFIT  ASSOCIATION. 


THE  FARMERS'  MUTUAL   BENEFIT  ASSOCIATION.    409 


COPTER  XY. 

THE  FARMERS'   MUTUAL  BENEFIT  ASSOCIATION, 


—  BY- 


JOHN  P.  STELLE,  Secretary  General  Assembly. 

History  of  the  Movement — Objects  of  the  Association- 
Declaration  of  Purposes— Necessity  of  Organization— Preamble- 
Motto— General  Assembly— State  Assembly— County  Assembly— 
The  Subordinate  Lodges  —  Requisite  of  Membership— Who  can 
form  a  Lodge — Officers  and  their  Duties; — Present  Condition  of 
Agricultural  Interests— The  Memorial  to  Congress— Conclusion. 

IT  is  our  purpose  to  give  a  full 
account  of  the  farmers'  move- 
ment, it  is  necessary  to  consider 
at  some  length  the  outline  of  the 
11  Farmers  Mutual  Benefit  Association."  This 
is  one  of  the  latest  organizations,  but  it  is  at 
present  in  a  very  flourishing  state.  Incorporated  in 
Illinois  in  1887,  m  ^ess  tnan  five  years  its  membership 
was  estimated  to  have  reached  nearly  two  hundred 
thousand,  and  it  was  at  work  in  ten  states.  The 
secretary,  in  the  last  General  Assembly  of  the  order, 
reported  the  preceding  year  as  witnessing  the  formation 
of  nearly  twelve  hundred  new  lodges.  Such  a  growth 
as  this  shows  that  as  an  organization  it  must  be  so 


410  THE  farmers'  mutual  benefit  association. 

planned  as  to  meet  the  approval  of  the  farmers  of  the 
land.  It  goes  without  saying  that  it  has  the  same 
general  purposes  in  view  as  the  other  great  farming 
organizations.  Its  system  of  organization  is  not  quite 
so  complex  as  the  "National  farmers  Alliance  and  In- 
dustrial Union,"  and  a  little  more  complex  than  the 
National  Farmers  Alliance  of  the  West.  Thus  it  may 
be  said  to  have  the  good  points  of  both. 

The  Articles  of  Incorporation  state  the  objects  to 
be  as  follows :  The  objects  for  which  it  is  formed  are, 
to  unite  the  farmers  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  of  the 
United  States,  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  inter- 
ests ol  their  calling ;  to  devise  ways  and  means  where- 
by they  may  more  effectually  promote  their  general 
welfare ;  to  improve  the  modes  of  agriculture,  horti- 
culture and  stock  raising ;  to  adopt  and  encourage 
such  rotation  of  crops  as  may  improve  rather  than  im- 
poverish the  soil ;  to  devise  and  encourage  such  sys- 
tems of  concentration  and  co-operation  as  may  dimin- 
ish the  cost  of  production,  and  of  farm  life  and  farm 
operations  ;  and  to  secure  the  best  possible  returns  for 
farm  productions ;  to  provide  for  the  extension  of  the 
benefits  of  said  association  by  organizing  and  charter- 
ing subordinate  associations  in  such  manner  as  may 
from  time  to  time  be  prescribed  by  the  rules  and  regu- 
lations of  the  association. 

The  following  Declaration  of  Purposes  set  forth 
in  dignified  language  the  sentiments  which  animate 
the  members  of  this  association. 


THE    FARMERS'  MUTUAL    BENEFIT    ASSOCIATION.     411 

Being  convinced  by  evidences  on  every  hand  of 
the  imperative  necessity  of  an  Association  ef  Farmers, 
and  being  moved  by  unfeigned  courtesy  toward  those 
of  other  business  classes,  we  deem  it  expedient  on  our 
part  to  express  our  purposes  in  unmistakable  terms. 

It  is  universally  admitted  that  every  profession 
and  business,  apart  from  farming,  looks  either  directly 
or  indirectly  to  the  farmers  for  sustenance.  This  fact 
should  impel  every  business  or  professional  man  to  at 
least  give  us  the  benefit  of  his  good  wishes,  if  not  a 
helping  hand.  We  do  not  incline  to  the  opinion  that 
even  successful  farming  can  be  made  entirely  indepen- 
dent,  yet  a  mere  glance  at  our  situation  reveals  the 
truth  that  we  are  growing  more  and  more  dependent, 
and  that  quite  to  our  disadvantage.  We  engage  to 
educate  ourselves  to  appreciate  the  dignity  of  our  call- 
ing, to  look  up  with  pride  and  satisfaction  to  our 
chosen  business,  to  make  our  business  more  inviting 
and  promising. 

Unorganized,  we  stand  opposed  to  our  special 
interests  by  making  room  for  numerous  obstructions 
in  our  path,  without  the  courage  or  ability  to  remove 
them.  Unorganized,  we  float  along  down  the  stream 
of  time  unconscious  of  our  importance  as  a  business 
class,  unmindful  of  the  many  advantages  within  our 
grasp,  unable  to  determine  the  cause  of  our  many 
failures. 

Organized,  we  have  the  advantage  of  exchanging 
ideas,  exchanging  experiences,  exchanging  sympathy, 

25 


412    THE  farmers'  mutual  benefit  association. 

and  the  advantage  of  disseminating  timely  and  im- 
portant information.  Organized,  we  have  the  advan- 
tage of  uniting  our  interests  and  combining  our  strength. 

We  engage  to  acquaint  ourselves  with  and  to 
support  our  Municipal,  County,  State  and  National 
laws.  We  engage  not  to  interfere  with  any  other 
business  class  or  profession,  but  rather  to  respect  all 
legitimate  business  and  professions.  But  we  will 
promptly  and  fearlessly  place  the  stamp  of  condemna- 
tion on  every  business  or  profession  which,  in  our 
judgment,  is  calculated  to  interfere  with  our  rights. 
We  intend  to  be  progressive  in  thought  and  action. 
We  shall  endeavor  to  advance  our  country  in  general 
— morally,  intellectually  and  financially. 

We  rely  with  full  confidence  in  an  all  wise  Provi- 
dence for  our  ultimate  success. 

Any  American  citizen,  farmer,  mechanic  or  pro- 
fessional man,  can  but  extend  his  sympathy  and  good 
will  to  such  a  plain,  straightforward  creed  as  that. 
The   following  is  the  preamble. 

We,  farmers  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
believing  that  our  business  is  the  business  preservative 
of  business,  and  that  our  peculiar  interests  and  ac- 
knowledged rights  have  been  and  will  continue  to  be 
disregarded,  unless  we  assume  the  office  of  self-pro- 
tection ;  we,  therefore,  do  resolve  to  organize  ourselves 
for  the  purpose  hereinafter  mentioned  and  to  adopt 
for  our  government  the  following  Motto,  Constitution 
and  By-Laws. 


THE  FARMERS'  MUTUAL    BENEFIT   ASSOCIATION.      413 

The  motto  they  have  adopted  is  equally  to  the 
point.  Equal  and  exact  justice  to  all ;  special  privi- 
leges and  immunities  to  none ;  charity  to  those  in 
poverty,  affliction  or  distress,  and  especially  to  those 
of  our  own  Order. 

The  Constitution  provides  that  the  association 
shall  consist  of  a  General  Assembly,  State  Assemblies, 
County  Assemblies  and  Subordinate  Lodges.  The 
General  Assembly  consists  of  its  officers,  standing 
committees,  and  Representatives  from  State  Assem- 
blies ;  it  is  the  supreme  head  of  the  association  and 
enacts  all  laws  for  its  government ;  grants  and  issues 
all  charters ;  adopts  and  controls  the  unwritten  work ; 
furnish  all  signs,  pass  words,  emblems  and  other  de- 
vices of  the  association,  and  has  general  supervision 
and  jurisdiction  over  State  Assemblies,  County  As- 
semblies and  Subordinate  Lodges,  and  over  all  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  the  general  interests  and  purposes 
of  the  association  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the  con- 
stitution. 

State  Assemblies  consist  of  their  officers,  stand- 
ing committees  and  representatives  from  County  As- 
semblies. State  Assemblies  have  jurisdiction  over  all 
matters  pertaining  to  the  good  of  the  association  in 
their  respective  states,  subject  to  all  laws  and  resolu- 
tions of  the  General  Assembly.  They  have  appellate 
jurisdiction  in  cases  arising  from  County  Assemblies, 
subject  to  final  appeal  to  the  General  Assembly. 

County  Assemblies  consist  of  their  officers,  stand- 


414  the  farmers'  mutual  benefit  associat      . 

ing  committees  and  representatives  from  Subordinate 
Lodges.  County  Assemblies  have  jurisdiction  over 
all  matters  pertaining  to  the  good  of  the  association 
in  their  respective  counties,  subject  to  all  laws  and 
resolutions  of  the  State  and  General  Assemblies. 
They  have  appellate  jurisdiction  in  cases  arising  from 
Subordinate  Lodges,  subject  to  final  appeal  to  the 
State  Assembly. 

Finally  we  come  to  the  unit  of  organization,  the 
Subordinate  Lodge,  which  consists  of  duly  qualified 
farmers,  citizens  of  the  United  States,  inducted  into 
the  association  as  provided  by  its  laws  and  authorized 
usages.  Each  Subordinate  Lodge  has  exclusive  con- 
trol of  its  own  affairs,  subject  only  to  the  laws,  rulings 
and  resolutions  of  the  General  Assembly  and  its  State 
and  County  Assemblies. 

The  requirements  of  membership  are  few  and 
simple.  The  applicant  must  be  a  male  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  at  least  twenty-one  years  of  age,  of 
good  moral  character  and  of  industrious  habits,  and 
whose  residence  within  the  vicinity  of  the  Subordinate 
Lodge  to  which  application  for  membership  is  made, 
must  have  been  sixty  days,  and  whose  principal  voca- 
tion must  be  that  of  farming.  He  must  make  appli- 
cation in  writing  to  his  nearest  or  most  accessible 
lodge,  accompanied  by  a  fee  of  fifty  cents.  The  ap- 
plication must  state  whether  or  not  the  applicant  has 
been  rejected  by  or  expelled  from  any  other  lodge. 
This  is  referred  to  an  investigating  committee,  who 


THE   FARMERS'    MUTUAL   BENEFIT  ASSOCIATION    415 

make  investigation,  and  if  the  applicant  be  found  to 
meet  the  foregoing  requirements,  they  so  report, 
whereupon  a  ballot  is  taken  and  if  not  more  than  two 
black  balls  appear  the  applicant  is  declared  elected, 
and  may  be  initiated.  If  the  committee  find  to  the 
contrary  they  shall  so  report,  or  if  more  than  two 
black  balls  appear  in  either  case  both  the  fee  and  ap- 
plication is  returned,  and  the  matter  shall  be  made 
one  of  the  secrets  of  the  Order. 

It  requires,  at  least,  ten  persons  to  organize  a 
new  lodge,  the  method  of  procedure  is  for  those  wish- 
ing to  form  a  new  lodge  to  join  in  a  written  request  to 
be  so  organized,  which  is  forwarded  to  some  chartered 
lodge,  on  receipt  of  the  same,  the  lodge,  having  first 
duly  investigated  the  qualifications  of  the  petitioners 
and  found  them  worthy,  and  having  collected  the  re- 
quired fee,  proceeds  to  confer  on  them  the  degrees  of 
the  association  and  organize  them  into  a  lodge  as  re- 
quested. After  such  organization  has  been  effected 
the  secretary  of  the  organizing  lodge  makes  a  report 
of  the  organization,  with  the  names  of  the  members, 
the  name  of  the  lodge,  its  officers  and  post  office  ad- 
dress, accompanied  by  the  regular  charter  fee,  to  the 
secretary  of  the  General  Assembly.  They  are  then 
furnished  with  a  charter  and  the  organization  is  com- 
plete. 

The  officers  of  all  the  organized  bodies  of  the  as- 
sociation, from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  consist  of  a 
president,   vice-president,   secretary    and    treasurer. 


416  THE  farmers'  mutual  benefit  association. 

These  are  all  elected  officers.  There  is,  however,  a 
board  of  five  trustees  elected  by  the  General  Assembly, 
this  board  is  the  legal  head  of  the  association.  A 
county  must  have,  at  least,  three  subordinate  lodges 
before  it  can  organize  a  County  Assembly,  and  a  state 
must  have,  at  least,  three  County  Assemblies  before 
it  can  organize  a  State  Assembly. 

The  foregoing  gives  us  a  fairly  good  idea  of  the 
working  machinery  of  the  association.  The  secretary 
at  the  general  assembly  in  1889  summed  up  the  pres- 
ent condition  of  the  agricultural  interests  in  this  land 
and  the  hopes  of  the  organization  as  follows  :  On  the 
one  hand  is  a  depressed  and  suffering  agriculture,  the 
vocation  to  which  God  has  called  you — unremunerated 
toilers,  homes  mortgaged,  life-time  labors,  with  all 
their  buried  hopes  and  sweetly  painful  memories, 
passing  away  from  the  laborers.  God  blesses  with 
abundance  in  vain.  The  worker's  share  is  still  unre- 
munerated toil.  On  the  other  hand  is  law-made 
aristocracy,  trusts,  combines  and  monopolies  more 
powerful  than  the  government  itself,  exercising  gov- 
ernmental functions  for  selfish  ends.  Agriculture  is 
always  the  sufferer  in  such  a  condition  of  government, 
and  never  yet  have  agriculturalists  been  able  to  throw 
off  the  yoke  when  once  fastened  upon  them,  but  by  a 
revolutionary  upheaval.  But  the  superior  intelligence 
of  the  American  farmer  gives  ample  hope  that  through 
wise  and  prudent  but  powerful  organization  this  may 
be  grandly  done,  and  our  country,  the  home  of  liberty, 


THE   FARMERS'  MUTUAL    BENEFIT    ASSOCIATION.     417 

the  beacon  light  of  nations,  may  be  made  to  blossom 
as  the  rose,  and  "  This  is  my  home,"  may  be  written 
where  the  mortgage  fiend  now  sits,  while  "  equal 
rights  for  all  "  shall  blaze  in  letters  of  living  fire  to 
light  up  our  legislative  and  congressional  halls. 
Grander  incentives  to  action  could  not  be,  and  may 
God  himself  lead  the  way. 

The  Association  adopted  in  the  General  Assem- 
bly in  1889,  a  memorial  to  Congress,  which  though 
somewhat  long,  we  will  quote  entire,  since  it  presents 
in  a  very  clear  manner  just  what  legislation  the  asso- 
ciation thinks  is  necessary  to  bring  prosperity  to  the 
farmers  of  the  land,  It  also  gives  us  in  a  short  com- 
pass the  wants  of  all  farmer  organizations  and  of 
many  who  are  not  farmers.  Let  it  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  legislation  is  not  demanded  for  the  sake  of 
farmers  alone,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  great  majority 
of  the  citizens  of  the  union  irespective  of  profession 
or  calling. 

We,  the  members  of  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Bene- 
fit Association,  in  General  Assembly  convened,  unite 
in  the  following  declaration,  and  demand  the  reforms 
hereinafter  mentioned. 

We  desire  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that 
while  our  country,  as  a  whole,  has  enjoyed  during 
the  last  decade  more  than  ordinary  prosperity,  and 
the  entire  increase  of  wealth  has  equaled,  if  not  ex- 
ceeded, any  other  decade  of  history  ; 

While  those  engaged  in  trade  and  transportation, 


418   THE  farmers'  mutual  benefit  association. 

in  professional  and  personal  service,  and  with  some 
exceptions,  those  engaged  in  mining  and  manufactur- 
ing, have  received  remunerative  prices  for  their  labors, 
and  many  of  them  highly  remunerative  prices  for  the 
capital  invested,  and  many  persons  have  become 
exceedingly  wealthy  within  the  last  decade.  The  busi- 
ness of  farming,  which  has  always  been  less  remu- 
nerative to  both  the  capital  and  labor  invested  than 
almost  any  other  business  or  occupation,  the  prices 
of  farm  products  and  the  profits  of  both  capital  and 
labor  invested  therein  for  the  past  six  or  seven  years 
has  been  almost  constantly  declining,  until  the  prices 
are  now,  and  for  some  years  have  been,  absolutely 
below  the  cost  of  production,  and  the  business  of 
farming  has  been  prosecuted  for  three  or  four  years 
at  an  absolute  loss,  in  so  much  that  the  laborers  of 
this  country  who  toil  more  hours  than  any  other  class 
or  calling,  instead  of  sharing  in  the  general  prosperity, 
are  growing  poorer  day  by  day.  And  while  many 
persons  in  our  country  are  said  to  be  in  want  of  food 
and  raiment,  the  American  farmers  (except  the  grow- 
ers of  rice  and  sugar)  can  not  find  a  market  for  their 
products  which  will  repay  the  cost  of  production, 
transportation  and  sale.  This  state  of  things  has 
forced  many  of  our  farmers  to  mortgage  their  farms. 
The  unremunerative  price  of  farm  products  affords  no 
hope  of  paying  these  mortgages,  and  it  is  only  a 
question  of  time  when  the  mortgages  will  be  fore- 
closed, the  occupants  (the  farmer  and  his  wife  and 


THE    FARMERS'  MUTUAL    BENEFIT   ASSOCIATION.     419 

children)  will  be  turned  out  of  house  and  home,  and 
will  be  forced  to  take  up  their  "  melancholy  march  " 
"over the  hills  to  the  poor  house,"  while  ioo  men  in 
our  country  own  $150,000,000  worth  of  property — 
some  of  whom  revel  in  incomes  of  more  than  $1,000,- 
000  per  annum. 

We  are  in  favor  of  "  equal  and  exact  justice  to 
all,  special  privileges  and  immunities  to  none. 

Therefore,  and  to  that  end,  we  denounce  and 
demand  the  abolition  of  all  monopolies,  whether 
created  by  class  legislation,  or  by  the  voluntary  com- 
bination of  corporations  or  individuals. 

We  denounce,  and  demand  the  suppression  of 
all  trusts  and  combinations,  of  either  persons  or  cor- 
porations, made  for  the  purpose  of  limiting  production, 
suppressing,  preventing,  or  diminishing  competition  ; 
or  increasing  the  price  of  products  far  above  the  cost 
of  production. 

We  denounce,  and  demand  the  repeal  of  all 
class  legislation,  whereby  any  person  or  corporation 
or  person  of  any  class,  calling,  profession  or  occupa- 
tion, are  granted  any  privilege  or  immunity  not 
granted  to  or  possessed  by  all  other  persons,  classes, 
callings,  professions  and  occupations. 

We  deplore  the  tremendous  and  unparalleled 
concentration  of  wealth — the  accumulation  of  nearly 
all  the  surplus  earnings  of  the  entire  labors  of  our 
people — into  the  hands  of  a  "  favored  few,"  which  has 
been  fast  increasing  for  the  last  twenty-five  years,  and 


420  the  farmers'  mutual  benefit  association. 

which  is  fast  transforming  the  once  prosperous  and 
free  people  of  the  United  States  into  a  nation  of  mill- 
ionaires and  paupers,  of  plutocrats  and  slaves ;  and 
which,  if  not  promptly  arrested,  all  hope  of  liberty 
and  "government  by  the  people  for  the  people,"  will 
soon  have  perished  from  the  earth. 

And  we  denounce  that  system  of  class  legisla- 
tion and  of  voluntary  combinations  of  capitalists  and 
monopolists  which  have  rendered  this  unparalleled 
accumulation  possible.  And  as  a  just  and  legal  cor- 
rective of  this  dangerous  and  destructive  evil,  we  de- 
mand the  repeal  of  all  class  legislation,  and  that  our 
revenue  be  largely  collected  by  a  heavily  graduated 
tax  on  incomes,  and  especially  the  incomes  of  rich 
corporations. 

We  denounce  that  hoary-headed  monopoly  cre- 
ated and  sustained  by  our  system  of  patent  laws,  by 
which  our  people  (and  more  especially  the  farmers) 
are  annually  taxed  probably  more  than  $  100,000,000 — 
the  results  of  which  are  seldom  to  reward  the  inven- 
tor, but  to  increase  the  number  of  millionaires  in  our 
country. 

And  we  demand  such  revision  of  our  patent  law 
as  will  eliminate  all  monopoly  from  the  system,  and 
at  the  same  time  secure  to  the  inventor,  not  to  the 
speculator,  a  liberal  reward  for  his  invention  in  pro- 
portion to  its  utility. 

We  believe  that  it  is  not  only  an  inherent  attri- 
bute of  sovereignty,  but   the  absolute  duty  of   the 


THE    FARMERS'    MUTUAL   BENEFIT   ASSOCIATION.    421 

government,  to  furnish  its  people  with  a  safe  and  con- 
venient medium  of  exchange  of  uniform  money  value. 
That  to  devolve  this  duty  and  privilege,  either  upon 
persons  or  corporations,  is,  to  that  extent,  an  abdica- 
tion of  government. 

That  the  privilege  of  furnishing  a  currency  to  the 
people  is  a  highly  valuable  privilege,  even  when  that 
currency  is  gold  or  silver.  And  the  privilege  of  fur- 
nishing paper  currency  is  worth  even  more  than  the 
annual  interest  on  the  amount  furnished.  That  the 
national  government  alone  should  receive  all  the 
profits  resulting  from  the  coining  and  issuing  of 
money,  to  that  extent  diminishing  the  burdens  of 
national  taxation,  thus  distributing  the  profits  among 
all  the  tax-payers  according  to  the  amount  of  taxes 
paid  by  each. 

Therefore,  we  demand  the  abolition  of  the  na- 
tional banking  system,  that  hereafter  no  person  or 
corporation  be  permitted  to  coin  or  print  or  issue 
money  or  circulating  medium.  That  all  money  be 
coined,  printed,  stamped  and  issued  by  the  national 
government  directly  to  the  people,  without  the  inter- 
vention of  persons,  banks  or  other  corporations,  suffi- 
cient in  quantities  for  all  purposes  of  trade,  com- 
merce and  exchange,  composed  of  gold,  silver,  copper 
and  their  alloys,  and  of  United  States  Treasury  notes, 
all  of  which,  except  subsidiary  coin,  should  be  made 
a  full  legal  tender  for  all  debts  and  taxes,  both  public 
and  private.     That  the  government  should  make  no 


422  THE  farmers'  mutual  benefit  association. 

discrimination  between  gold  and  silver  either  in  coin- 
ing or  paying  out  the  same. 

And  we  demand  that  our  government,  instead  of 
using  its  influence,  as  heretofore  with  European  na- 
tions, to  maintain  the  single  standard  of  gold,  as 
money,  shall  hereafter  use  all  its  influence  with  those 
nations  which  have  demonetized  silver  and  adopted 
the  gold  standard  to  restore  silver  coins  to  their 
former  position  as  money. 

We  believe  that  as  all  corporations  are  created 
by  the  sovereignty,  they  have  no  interest  or  inaliena- 
ble rights.  That  they  are  at  all  times  subject  to  reg- 
ulation and  control  (and  for  cause  to  dissolution)  by 
their  creator. 

That  corporations  for  transporting  persons  and 
property,  or  for  transmitting  news  or  intelligence,  or 
for  insuring  life  or  property,  should  be  so  regulated 
by  law  as  to  prevent  all  discrimination  and  extortion. 
That  they  should  not  be  permitted  to  water  their 
stock,  or  to  over-issue  it,  without  payment  of  the 
increase  in  money. 

That  they  should  not  recklessly  squander  their 
earnings,  and  thus  necessitate  exorbitant  charges 
for  services  rendered  the  public.  That  they  be  re- 
quested to  manage  their  business  with  reasonable 
economy,  that  they  may  serve  the  public  effectively 
and  cheaply.  And  finally,  if  these  ends  can  not  be 
secured  through  corporate  control  and  management 
of  railways  and  telegraphs,  then  we  demand  that  the 


THE  FARMERS'  MUTUAL   BENEFIT   ASSOCIATION.      423 

corporations  be  dissolved,  their  franchises  resumed 
and  their  tangible  property  be  taken  and  paid  for  by 
the  government,  and  that  they  be  operated  for  the 
good  of  the  people. 

As  the  principal  reasons  which  were  once  sup- 
posed to  exist  for  electing  the  President  and  Vice- 
President  by  electors,  and  United  States  Senators  by 
legislatures,  have  long  since  failed,  we  are  in  favor  of 
electing  them  (under  proper  safeguards)  by  direct 
ballot  of  the  legal  voters. 

We  are  uncompromisingly  opposed  to  the  crea- 
tion or  perpetuation  of  a  class  of  officeholders.  We 
believe  that  in  a  republican  government,  the  frequent 
return  of  the  officeholder  to  the  ranks  of  the  people, 
is  as  necessary  asa"  frequent  recurrence  to  the  first 
principles  of  government." 

Therefore  we  are  opposed  to  all  tenure  of  office, 
either  during  life  or  good  behavior,  and  demand  the 
election  of  United  States  Judges  at  stated  periods, 
not  longer  than  nine  years,  by  the  ballots  of  the  legal 
voters.  If  this  is  not  the  people's  government,  whose 
government  is  it  ?  If  it  is  the  people's  government, 
who  should  choose  their  officers  ? 

While  we  favor  a  liberal  system  of  pensions  to 
soldiers  and  sailors  who  in  the  line  of  duty  became 
disabled  from  earning  a  livelihood,  we  are  unalterably 
opposed  to  creating  or  retaining  a  list  of  retired 
officeholders,  either  civil  or  military,  as  pensioners,  to 
be  supported  at  the  public  charge  and  that  largely  by 


424   THE  farmers'  mutual  benefit  association. 

the  hard  earnings  of  farmers  and  laborers,  who  can 
hardly  support  themselves  and  families.  It  is  unre- 
publican,  and  smacks  strongly  of  aristocracy  and 
royalty. 

We  demand  the  immediate  reclamation  of  all  the 
public  lands  granted  to  either  persons  or  corporations 
to  aid  railways,  the  terms  of  which  grants  were  not 
complied  with  in  the  prescribed  time  and  manner. 
And  we  propose  to  watch  and  reward  the  course  of 
our  senators  and  representatives  on  this  subject. 

We  protest  against  the  increase  of  salaries  to 
senators  or  any  other  public  officer.  We  believe  that 
the  salaries  of  public  officers  should  be  a  fair  compen- 
sation for  the  services  rendered,  and  should  be  but 
little  more  than  private  persons  obtain  for  similar 
work.  The  salaries  in  excess  of  this  are  a  standing 
reward  to  induce  the  great  scramble  for  office,  and  to 
obtain  office  by  corruption  and  fraud,  which  should  be 
promptly  arrested  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  reward. 
We  therefore  demand  a  revision  of  the  salaries  and 
fixing  them  on  these  principles. 

And  the  fact  that  more  than  half  of  all  the  reve- 
nues collected  in  the  United  States  is  paid  out  as 
salaries  to  officers  and  wages  of  public  employees, 
conclusively  indicates  that  if  we  would  reduce  our 
taxes  we  must  first  reduce  our  expenditures. 

We  believe  that  the  production  and  use  of  all  ar- 
ticles of  necessity,  convenience  and  comfort  should  be 
encouraged,  and  the  use  of  those  of  mere  luxury  and 


THE   FARMERS'  MUTUAL   BENEFIT   ASSOCIATION.     42ft 

articles  useless  or  injurious  to  health  or  good  morals 
should  be  discouraged.  Hence,  we  favor  the  removal 
or  reduction  of  taxes  on  articles  of  necessity,  conve- 
nience and  comfort  to  the  poor,  to  the  limit  consistent 
with  "  equal  and  exact  justice  to  all."  And  that  the 
burden  of  taxation  be  placed  on  articles  of  luxury,  and 
especially  on  those  injurious  to  health  and  good 
morals,  and  upon  large  and  excessive  incomes. 

We  are  opposed  to  alien  ownership  of  real  estate 
in  the  United  States. 

We  believe  that  our  government  and  people 
should  no  longer  encourage  foreign  immigration,  and 
should  prevent  the  immigration  of  criminals,  paupers, 
persons  of  bad  morals,  and  all  adults  who  are  not 
capable  of  self-support. 

We  believe  that  private  ownership  of  real  estate 
should  be  limited  to  use  and  occupation  of  the  owner 
and  that  corporate  ownership  be  limited  to  an  amount 
necessary  for  the  convenient  operation  of  the  business. 

While  the  above  may  be  taken  as  the  clearly  ex- 
pressed demands  of  the  organization,  it  is  entirely  non- 
partisan in  character,  and  makes  no  political  or  relig- 
ious condition  of  membership,  though  its  teachings, 
being  without  party  bias,  naturally  lead  to  indepen- 
dent political  actio*. 


426  THE  GRANGE 


COPTER  XVI. 

THE   GRANGE. 

— REVIEWED   BY — 

JOHN  TRIMBLE,  Secretarj  National  Grange. 

The  Oldest  Farmer  Organization — What  Led  to  its  Forma- 
tion— Its  Triumph — Declaration  of  Purposes — General  Objects — 
Specific  Objects — Business  Kelations — Education  —  Grange  Non- 
partisan— Outside  Co-operation  — Preamble — Why  the  Grange  does 
not  Unite  with  other  Agricultural  Organizations — Wherein  it  agrees 
with  other  Organizations — In  what  it  Dissents — Conclusion. 


IS  the  oldest  distinctively  farmers 
organization,  it  started  in  1867. 
For  many  years  it  alone  represented 
^a  the  main  principles  for  which  seve- 
ral national  orgfnizations  now  contend.  So  successful 
has  it  been  that  the  word  "granger"  is  now  known 
as  a  name  for  farmers  generally.  It  has  fought  a  bat- 
tle not  only  for  farmers,  but  for  all  classes.  It  entered 
on  the  first  fight  with  railroads,  and  succeeded  in  con- 
vincing these  corporations  they  were  after  all  not 
quite  as  powerful  as  the  general  public.  Granger 
legislation,  in  regard  to  railroads,  had  to  run  the  gamut 
of  all  the  courts  of  the  land.  This  organization,  after 
struggling  in  feebleness  for  several  years,  suddenly  at 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
SEC'Y  NATIONAL  GRANGE  PATRONS  OF  HUSBANDRY, 


THE   GRANGE.  429 

one  bound,  became  exceedingly  popular.  It  subse- 
quently fell  away  from  this  high-water  mark.  But  it 
is  still  a  strong,  conservative  and  practical  organiza- 
tion. Onr  sketch  of  its  history  is  mainly  derived  from 
a  lecture  delivered  by  Hon.  D.  Wyatt  Aiken.  The 
Order  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry  has  now  been  in 
existence  twenty-four  years.  Its  founders  are  well 
known,  but  just  how  much  of  the  structure  each  one 
framed,  they  are  unable  to  inform  us.  Suffice  it  to 
say,  that  in  January,  1866,  Mr.  O.  H.  Kelley,  a  clerk 
in  the  Agricultural  Department,  was  sent  by  President 
Johnson  upon  a  mission  to  see  what  could  be  done  to 
revive  the  agricultural  industry  of  the  Southern  States 
so  lately  wrecked  by  war.  Kelley  journeyed  as  far 
south  as  Charleston,  S.  C,  thence  to  Savannah,  Mo- 
bile, New  Orleans,  up  the  Mississippi  to  Memphis, 
across  the  country  to  Atlanta,  and  back  again  to 
Washington  City. 

Impressed  with  the  disorganization  of  that  pecu 
liar  agricultural  section,  and  grieved  at  the  utter  de- 
moralization of  its  people,  whom  he  found  intelligent 
and  trustworthy  beyond  his  anticipations,  Kelley  con- 
ceived the  idea  that  for  the  resuscitation  of  the  country 
and  the  .'ecuperation  of  its  farmers,  whose  wealth  and 
resources  had  been  swept  away  by  war,  organization 
was  a  necessity.  But  a  moment's  reflection  convicted 
him  that  there  was  vital  need  of  organization  among 
the  farmers  of  the  Union,  North  as  well  as  South,  and 
to  effect  such  an  end  became  the  thought  of  his  life. 

26 


430  THE    GRANGE. 

He  reasoned  that  agricultural  clubs  were  neither  per- 
manent nor  effective  ;  they  were  ephemeral,  and  sel- 
dom if  ever  controlled  by  farmers.  State  and  country 
fairs  were  not  for  farmers  alone,  but  open  to  the  com- 
petition of  the  world.  In  his  soliloquy  he  queried, 
why  should  not  farmers  join  in  a  league  peculiar  to 
themselves,  in  which  others  should  not  be  admitted  to 
membership?  Such  an  union  would  be  partisan,  and 
if  partisan  it  should  be  secret,  and  if  secret  it  must 
have  a  ritual  to  make  it  effective  and  attractive.  This 
process  of  reasoning  rapidly  brought  him  to  a  conclu- 
sion, and  forthwith  he  undertook  to  execute  the  ritual- 
istic framework  of  such  an  organization. 

But  to  this  he  required  help.  Finally  six  men 
joined  him  in  the  undertaking.  It  is  no  slight  task 
to  lay  the  foundation  for  a  successful  organization 
and  to  plan  out  the  necessary  ritual.  But  they  per- 
severed. For  nearly  two  years  they  wrought  with  an 
energy  unaccountable,  and  with  a  faith  amounting 
almost  to  inspiration,  until  they  completed  a  well- 
devised  scheme  of  organization,   based   upon  a  ritual 

* 

of  four  degrees  for  men,  and  four  for  women,  of  great 
originality  of  thought,  beauty  of  diction,  and  purity 
of  sentiment.  Having  framed  a  constitution,  adapted 
to  this  ritual,  to  govern  them,  they  met  on  the  4th 
day  of  December,  1867,  and  constituted  themselves 
the  National  Grange  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry. 
During  the  four  years  next  succeeding,  their  zeal  was 
nothing  abated.     Their  time,  their  labor  and   their 


THE   GRANGE.  431 

scanty  cash  were  all   cheerfully  given  to   scatter  the 
seeds  of  promise   far  and   wide   over  the   Union,  for 
they  fervently  believed  they  were  "casting  their  bread 
upon  the  waters."     These  four  years  if  not  years  of 
discouragement,  still   had  but  little  to  stimulate  the 
founders.     They  printed  circulars  and  copies  of  their 
constitution.     At  the  third  annual  convention,  but  two 
members   were  present,  the  worthy  master  and  the 
secretary.     But  it    is   recorded  that  the  master,  with 
much  ability  and  eloquence,  delivered  his  annual  ad' 
dress  to  his  single   auditor.      This  action,    however, 
preserved  the  spark  of  life.     The  first    State  Grange 
was  organized  in  Minnesota  in  1879.     The  second  in 
Iowa  in  1871.     In  1873  seventeen  delegates  attended 
the  national  convention,  six  of  them  were  masters  of 
state   granges.      The    movement    was    now    on    the 
treshold    of    success.       1873    an<^     l&74-   were    very 
prosperous  years  for  the  grange.    In  the  former  eight 
thousand    six    hundred    and    sixty-eight   subordinate 
granges  were   organized,    and    in   the    latter  eleven 
thousand  nine   hundred  and   forty-one.      In  fact  this 
growth  was  too  rapid  for  good  effective  work.   There- 
fore, in  a  few  years  the  reaction  came  on.     But  this 
period  is  also  passed,    and   now  the  Grange  is  one  of 
the  most  powerful  organizations  of  the  land.     In  the 
words  of  Mr.   Trimble:  "Its  officers  and    members 
believe  that  its  aims,  objects  and  purposes,  properly 
carried  out,  will  protect  and   advance    the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  farmers  of  our  country,  and  through  them 


432  THE  GRANGE. 

the  best  interests  of  all  other  classes  as  well.  "The 
purposes  of  the  Grange  are  best  set  forth  in  the 
following  official  declaration  of  purposes  : 

Profoundly  impressed  with  the  truth  that  the  Na- 
tional Grange  of  the  United  States  should  definitely 
proclaim  to  the  world  its  general  objects,  we  hereby 
unanimously  make  this  Declaration  of  Purposes  of 
the  Patrons  of  Husbandry: 

GENERAL   OBJECTS. 

i.  United  by  the  strong  and  faithful  tie  of  Agri- 
culture, we  mutually  resolve  to  labor  for  the  good  of 
our  order,  our  country  and  mankind. 

2.  We  heartily  endorse  the   motto,  "  In  essen- 
tials, unity ;  in  non-essentials,  liberty ;  in  all  things 
charity." 

SPECIFIC  OBJECTS. 

3.  We  shall  endeavor  to  advance  our  cause  by 
laboring  to  accomplish  the  following  objects  : 

To  develop  a  better  and  higher  manhood  and 
womanhood  among  ourselves.  To  enhance  the  com- 
forts and  attractions  of  our  homes,  and  strengthen 
our  attachments  to  our  pursuits.  To  foster  mutual 
understanding  and  co-operation.  To  maintain  invio- 
late our  laws,  and  to  emulate  each  other  in  labor,  to 
hasten  the  good  time  coming.  To  reduce  our  ex- 
penses, both  individual  and  corporate.  To  buy  less 
and  produce  more,  in  order  to  make  our  farms  self- 
sustaining.     To  diversify  our  crops  and  crop  no  more 


THE   GRANGE.  433 

than  we  can  cultivate.  To  condense  the  weight  of 
our  exports,  selling  less  in  the  bushel  and  more  on 
hoof  and  in  fleece;  less  in  lint  and  more  in  warp  and 
woof.  To  systematize  our  work,  and  calculate  intel- 
ligently on  probabilities.  To  discountenance  the 
credit  system,  the  mortgage  system,  the  fashion  sys- 
tem, and  every  other  system  tending  to  prodigality 
and  bankruptcy.  We  propose  meeting  together, 
selling  together,  and,  in  general,  acting  together  for 
our  mutual  protection  and  advancement,  as  occasion 
may  require.  We  shall  avoid  litigation  as  much  as 
possible  by  arbitration  in  the  Grange.  We  shall 
constantly  strive  to  secure  entire  harmony,  good  will, 
vital  brotherhood  among  ourselves,  and  to  make  our 
order  perpetual,  We  shall  earnestly  endeavor  to 
suppress  personal,  local,  sectional  and  national  preju- 
dices, all  unhealthy  rivalry,  all  selfish  ambition. 
Faithful  adherence  to  these  principles  will  insure  our 
mental,  moral,  social  and  material  advancement. 

BUSINESS  RELATIONS. 

4.  For  cur  business  interests,  we  desire  to  bring 
producers  and  consumers,  farmers  and  manufacturers, 
into  the  most  direct  and  friendly  relations  possible. 
Hence  we  must  dispense  with  a  surplus  of  middle- 
men, not  that  we  are  unfriendly  to  them,  but  we  do 
not  need  them.  Their  surplus  and  their  exactions 
diminish  our  profits. 

We   wage  no  aggressive    warfare    against    any 


434  THE   GRANGE. 

other  interests  whatever.  On  the  contrary,  all  our 
acts  and  all  our  efforts,  so  far  as  business  is  concerned, 
are  not  only  for  the  benefit  of  the  producer  and  con- 
sumer, but  also  for  all  other  interests  that  tend  to 
bring  these  two  parties  into  speedy  and  economical 
contact.  Hence  we  hold  that  transportation  compa- 
nies of  every  kind  are  necessary  to  our  success,  that 
their  interests  and  harmonious  action  is  mutually  ad- 
vantageous, keeping  in  view  the  first  sentence  in  our 
declaration  of  principles  of  action,  that  "individual 
happiness  deoends  upon  general  prosperity." 

We  shall,  therefore,  advocate  for  every  State  the 
increase  in  every  practicable  way  of  all  facilities  for 
transporting  cheaply  to  the  seaboard,  or  between 
home  producers  and  consumers,  all  the  productions 
of  our  country,  We  adopt  it  as  our  fixed  purpose  to 
"open  out  the  channels  in  nature's  great  arteries,  that 
the  life-blood  of  commerce  may  flow  freely. 

We  are  not  enemies  of  railroads,  navigable  and 
irrigating  canals,  nor  of  any  corporation  that  will 
advance  our  industrial  interests,  nor  of  any  laboring 
classes. 

In  our  noble  order  there  is  no  communism,  no 
agrarianism. 

We  are  opposed  to  such  spirit  and  management 
of  any  corporation  or  enterprise  as  tends  to  oppress 
the  people  and  rob  them  of  their  just  profits.  We 
are  not  enemies  to  capital,  but  we  oppose  the  tyranny 
of  monopolies.     We  long  to  see  the  antagonism  be- 


THE   GRANGE.  435 

tween  capital  and  labor  removed  by  common  consent, 
and  by  an  enlightened  statesmanship  worthy  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  We  are  opposed  to  excessive 
salaries,  high  rates  of  interest,  and  exorbitant  per 
cent  profits  in  trade.  They  greatly  increase  our  bur- 
dens, and  do  not  bear  a  proper  proportion  to  the 
profits  of  producers.  We  desire  only  self-protection, 
and  the  protection  of  every  true  interest  of  our  land, 
by  legitimate  transactions,  legitimate  trade  and  legiti- 
mate profits. 

EDUCATION. 

We  shall  advance  the  cause  of  education  among 
ourselves,  and  for  our  children,  by  all  just  means 
within  our  power.  We  especially  advocate  for  our 
agricultural  and  industrial  colleges  that  practical 
agriculture,  domestic  science,  and  all  the  arts  which 
adorn  the  home,  be  taught  in  their  courses  of  study. 

THE  GRANGE  NOT  PARTISAN. 

5.  We  emphatically  and  sincerely  assert  the 
oft-repeated  truth  taught  in  our  organic  law,  that  the 
Grange — National,  State  or  Subordinate — is  not  a 
political  or  party  organization.  No  Grange,  if  true 
to  its  obligations,  can  discuss  partisan  or  sectarian 
questions,  nor  call  political  conventions,  nor  nominate 
candidates,  nor  even  discuss  their  merits  in  its 
meetino-s. 

Yet  the  principles  we  teach  underlie  all  true 
politics,  all  true  statemanship,  and,   if  properly  car- 


436  THE    GRANGE. 

ried  out,  will  tend  to  purify  the  whole  political  atmos- 
phere of  our  country.  For  we  seek  the  greatest 
good  of  all. 

We  must  bear  in  mind,  that  no  one,  by  becoming 
a  Patron  of  Husbandry,  gives  up  that  unalienable 
right  and  duty  which  belongs  to  every  American  citi- 
zen to  take  proper  interest  in  the  politics  of  his  country. 

On  the  contrary,  it  is  right  for  every  member  to 
do  all  in  his  power  legitimately  to  influence  for  good 
the  action  of  any  political  party  to  which  he  belongs. 
It  is  his  duty  to  do  all  he  can  to  put  down  bribery, 
corruption  and  trickery  ;  to  see  that  none  but  compe- 
tent, faithful  and  honest  men,  who  will  unflinchingly 
stand  by  our  interests,  are  nominated  for  all  positions 
of  trust ;  and  to  have  carried  out  the  principle  which 
should  always  characterize  every  patron,  that 

The  Office  Should  Seek  the  Man,  and  Not  the 
Man  the  Office. 

We  acknowledge  the  broad  principle,  that  differ- 
ence of  opinion  is  no  crime,  and  hold  that  "progress 
toward  truth  is  made  by  differences  of  opinion,"  while 
"the  fault  lies  in  bitterness  of  controversy." 

We  desire  a  proper  equality,  equity  and  fairness  ; 
protection  for  the  weak  ;  restraint  upon  the  strong ;  in 
short,  justly  distributed  burdens  and  justly  distributed 
power.  These  are  American  ideas,  the  very  essence 
of  American  independence,  and  to  advocate  the  con- 
trary is  unworthy  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  an 
American  republic. 


THE   GRANGE.  437 

We  cherish  the  belief  that  sectionalism  is,  and  of 
right  should  be,  dead  and  buried  with  the  past.  Our 
work  is  for  the  present  and  the  future.  In  our  agri- 
cultural brotherhood  and  its  purposes  we  shall  recog- 
nize no  North,  no  South,  no  East,  no  West. 

It  is  resolved  by  every  patron,  as  the  right  of  a 
freeman,  to  affiliate  with  any  party  that  will  best  carry 
out  his  principles. 

OUTSIDE  CO-OPERATION. 

6.  Ours  being  peculiarly  a  farmers'  institution, 
are  can  not  admit  all  to  our  ranks. 

Many  are  excluded  by  the  nature  of  our  organi- 
zation, not  because  they  are  professional  men,  or  ar- 
tisans, or  laborers,  but  because  they  have  not  a  suffi- 
cient direct  interest  in  tilling  the  soil,  or  may  have 
some  interest  in  conflict  with  our  purposes.  But  we 
appeal  to  all  good  citizens  for  their  cordial  co-operation 
to  assist  in  our  efforts  toward  reform,  that  we  may 
eventually  remove  from  our  midst  the  last  vestige  of 
tyranny  and  corruption. 

We  hail  the  general  desire  for  fraternal  harmony, 
equitable  compromises  and  earnest  co-operation,  as 
omen  of  our  future  success. 

CONCLUSION. 

7.  It  shall  be  an  abiding  principle  with  us  to  re- 
lieve any  of  our  oppressed  and  suffering  brotherhood 
by  any  means  at  our  command.     Last,  but  not  least, 


438  THE   GRANGE. 

we  proclaim  it  among  our  purposes  to  inculcate  a 
proper  appreciation  of  the  abilities  and  sphere  of 
woman,  as  is  indicated  by  admitting  her  to  member- 
ship and  position  in  our  Order.  Imploring  the  con- 
tinued assistance  of  our  Divine  Master  to  guide  us  in 
our  work,  we  here  pledge  ourselves  to  faithful  and 
harmonious  labor  for  all  future  time,  to  return  by  our 
united  efforts  to  the  wisdom,  justice,  fraternity  and 
political  purity  of  our  forefathers." 

The  Preamble  to  their  constitution  also  contains 
a  beautiful  presentation  of  the  necessity  of  organiza- 
tion. 

PREAMBLE. 

Human  happiness  is  the  acme  of  earthly  ambition. 
Individual  happiness  depends  upon  general  prosperity. 

The  prosperity  of  a  nation  is  in  proportion  to  the 
value  of  its  productions. 

The  soil  is  the  source  from  whence  we  derive  all 
that  constitutes  wealth  ;  without  it  we  would  have  no 
agriculture,  no  manufacturers,  no  commerce.  Of  all 
the  material  gifts  of  the  Creator,  the  various  produc- 
tions of  the  vegetable  world  are  of  the  first  importance. 
The  art  of  agriculture  is  the  parent  and  precursor  of 
all  arts,  and  its  products  the  foundation  of  all  wealth. 

The  productions  ol  the  earth  are  subject  to  the  in- 
fluence of  natural  laws,  invariable  and  indisputable  ; 
the  amount  produced  will  consequently  be  in  propor- 
tion to  the  intelligence  of  the  producer,  and  success 


THE  GRANGE.  439 

will  depend  upon  his  knowledge  of  the  action  of  these 
laws  and  the  proper  application  of  their  principles. 

Hence,  knowledge  is  the  foundation  of  happiness. 

The  ultimate  object  of  this  organization  is  for  mu- 
tual instruction  and  protection,  to  lighten  labor  by  dif- 
fusing a  knowledge  of  its  aims  and  purposes,  expand  the 
mind  by  tracing  the  beautiful  laws  the  Great  Creator 
has  established  in  the  Universe,  and  to  enlarge  our 
views  of  creative  wisdom  and  power. 

To  those  who  read  aright  history  proves  that  in  all 
ages  society  is  fragmentary,  and  successful  results  of 
general  welfare  can  be  secured  only  by  general  effort. 
Unity  of  action  can  not  be  acquired  withont  discipline, 
and  discipline  can  not  be  enforced  without  significant 
organization  ;  hence,  we  have  a  ceremony  of  initiation 
which  binds  us  in  mutual  fraternity  as  with  a  band  of 
iron  ;  but,  although  its  influence  is  so  powerful,  its 
application  is  as  gentle  as  that  of  the  silken  thread 
that  binds  a  wreath  of  flowers. 

The  Grange  organization  as  such  has  so  far  de- 
clined to  unite  with  other  more  recent  agricultural 
organizations.  Their  reasons  for  so  doine  are  often 
misunderstood.  Mr.  Trimble,  Secretary,  and  Mortimer 
Whitehead,  Lecturer  of  the  National  Grange,  have 
but  recently  taken  occasion  to  officially  explain  the 
position  of  the  Grange  in  this  matter,  in  answer  to  a 
call  to  form  a  confederation  with  other  farmers'  and 
laborers'  organizations,  they  said  : 

"  The   Grange   organization  is  now  twenty-four 


440  THE   GRANGE. 

years  of  age,  and  it  could  not,  by  attending  one  or 
many  conferences,  more  clearly  express  its  position 
upon  the  various  important  economic  questions  that 
are  at  present,  and  have  been  for  years,  agitating  our 
industrial  classes.  Through  its  press,  its  literature, 
its  public  speakers  and  its  national  and  state  legisla- 
tive committees,  it  clearly  declares  to  the  world  its 
policy  upon  all  matters  affecting  the  interests  of  the 
farmers,  said  policy  being  agreed  upon  only  after 
faithful  discussion  in  its  local,  state  and  national  bodies, 
and  officially  promulgated  as  the  sense  of  the  great 
majority  of  its  membership. 

It  surely  should  stand  to  the  credit  of  the  Grange 
organization  that  after  its  existence  of  nearly  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century  so  large  a  number  of  the  planks  in 
its  platform  have  been  incorporated,  many  of  them  ad 
liter  atum,  into  the  platforms  of  these  other  organiza- 
tions that  within  a  few  years  have  come  so  prominently 
to  the  front.  So  that  on  these  lines,  at  least,  it  is 
plainly  to  be  seen  that  these  other  organizations  do 
agree  with  the  National  Grange  by  thus  adopting  and 
indorsing  its  aims  and  purposes." 

They  then  give  a  few  items  to  prove  the  truth 
of  the  last  assertion.  They  quote  from  the  Declara- 
tion of  Purposes  adopted  in  1873  to  show  that  even 
then  the  Grange  contended  that  sectionalism  was  dead, 
a  thing  of  the  past.  They  show  that  the  financial  leg- 
islation now  demanded,  such  as  the  free  coinage  of 
silver,  has  always  been  favored  by  the  Grange.     The 


THE   GRANGE.  441 

Grange  has  for  many  years  advocated  numerous 
measures,  some  of  which  have  been  incorporated  into 
the  laws  of  the  land,  and  others  which  are  now  under 
discussion,  and  though  now  demanded  by  the  other 
organizations,  yet  the  Grange  can  not  forget  that  it 
was  the  pioneer  in  the  field.  Some  of  these  measures 
are,  the  Oleomargarine  law,  the  Interstate  Commerce 
law,  the  election  of  senators  directly  by  the  people, 
the  Australian  ballot  law,  the  elevation  of  the  Bureau 
of  Agriculture  to  a  department  of  government,  a  grad- 
uated income  tax,  reform  in  the  Patent  laws,  legisla- 
tion directed  against  trusts  and  monopolies  of  all 
kinds,  and  reform  in  taxation,  tariff,  finance,  transpor- 
tation, etc. 

But  then  on  the  other  hand,  they  go  on  to  say, 
that  "  there  are  some  things  advocated  by  other  farm- 
ers' and  laborers'  organizations  that  the  National 
Grange  has  not  indorsed,  among  which  might  be  men- 
tioned what  is  known  as  the  Henry  George  or  single- 
tax  theory,  advocated  and  officially  supported  by  the 
Knights  of  Labor  in  their  national  conventions.  The 
Grange  has  clearly  placed  itself  in  opposition  to  so  un- 
American  a  scheme  as  would  remove  the  tax  from  the 
palace  of  the  millionaire  and  place  it  upon  the  land 
alone.  Neither  has  the  National  Grange  indorsed 
what  is  known  as  the  warehouse  or  sub-treasury  plan, 
believing  it  to  be  impracticable  and  far  from  the  best 
means  ot  bringing  monetary  relief  to  the  tillers  of  the 
soil,  which  the  Grange,  in  common  with  all  other  or- 


442  THE  GRANGE. 

ganizations,  feels  to  be  one  of  the  most  pressing 
needs  of  the  hour."  The  Grange  has  lived  and  pros- 
pered these  many  years  upon  its  progressive,  and  yet 
conservative,  lines  of  action.  In  it  there  is  no  com- 
munism, no  agrarianism.  Its  members  are  law-abiding 
citizens,  and  wage  no  aggressive  war-fare  against  any 
other  legitimate  interest  whatever. 

Many  other  instances  might  be  given  to  prove 
the  broad,  comprehensive  character  of  the  Grange  or- 
ganization. Its  business  system,  its  life  and  fire  in- 
surance associations,  its  exchanges,  co-operative 
stores,  etc.;  its  admission  of  all  members  of  the  farm- 
er's family,  at  least  one-third  of  its  members  being  the 
mothers,  wives,  sisters  and  daughters  of  the  farm;  its 
support  of  education,  temperance,  morality  and  all 
those  things  that  go  to  develop  a  better  and  higher 
manhood  and  womanhood.  The  Grange  has,  as 
above  stated,  only  fraternal  feelings  for  other  organi- 
zations having  for  their  object  the  building  up  of 
American  toilers,  whether  in  field  or  town,  and  the 
perpetuation  of  our  free  institutions,  it  believes  that 
they  have  among  their  members  tens  of  thousands 
who  are  actuated  only  by  the  purest,  most  philantro- 
pic  and  patriotic  motives.  It  desires  to  be  good 
neighbors  with  them  all,  will  rejoice  with  them  in  their 
victories,  but  can  not  be  responsible  for  their  mistakes 
or  for  all  they  aim  to  do.  Its  membership  will  "  tol- 
erate the  faith  of  others,  still  clinging  closely  to  their 
own." 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 
LECTURER    NATIONAL    GRANGE    PATRONS    OF    HUSBANDRY. 


OBJECTS    OF   THE   GRANGE.  445 


CHAPTER  XY11. 

OBJECTS   OF   THE   GRANGE. 

—  BY  — 

MORTIMER  WHITEHEAD,  Lecturer  National  Grange. 

The  Grange  tested  by  Experience — The  Broad  Character  of 
the  Grange  Organization — The  Grange  Means  Education — Educates 
the  Fanner  in  Business — In  Co-operation — Shaping  Public  Opinion 

— Its  Teachings   tend   to   Elevate — Quotations 

showing  its  tendencies, 

I  %  THIS  year,  1891,  when  the  Grange 
celebrates  its  twenty-fifth  birthday, 
after  an  existence  of  a  full  quarter  of 
a  century ;  with  its  achievements  in 
the  interests  of  agriculture  known  of 
all  men ;  with  its  members  Governors  of 
States,  in  Congress,  in  Legislatures  and  fill- 
ing high  positions  of  trust  all  up  and  down  the  land  ; 
with  its  more  than  twenty-seven  thousand  charters 
issued  to  organizations  formed  in  every  state  and  ter- 
ritory, and  its  great  membership  of  the  very  best 
farmers,  their  wives  and  children,  holding  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  meetings  every  year ;  with  every  plank 
in  its  platform  thoroughly  tried  and  proven,  it  can  no 
longer  be  said  that  it  is  an  experiment  or  an  untried 
theory.      It   has  been   weighed   in   the   balance   and 


OBJECTS   OF   THE   GRANGE. 

never  yet  found  wanting  when  its  principles  have  been 
properly  applied.  It  is  a  bright  and  living  fact,  one 
of  the  permanent  institutions  of  our  country,  as  per- 
manent as  are  our  churches  or  our  schools.  And  as 
long  as  we  need  churches  and  schools,  as  long  as  we 
have  farms  and  farmers  to  till  them,  so  long  will  we 
need  the  Grange  and  so  long  will  it  continue  its  bene- 
ficent mission.  It  has  outlived  prejudice.  It  has  made 
itself  known  and  felt.  It  is  stronger  to-day  and  ac- 
complishing more  good  than  at  any  time  in  its  history. 
Unlike  other  class  organizations,  the  Grange  con- 
fers its  benefits  not  alone  upon  its  own  membership, 
neither  do  farmers  only  reap  its  rewards.  It  extends 
around  and  beyond  its  own  class,  and  advances  the  4M 
interests  of  all.  When  farmers  are  prosperous  we 
never  hear  of  hard  times  in  the  cities  or  anywhere 
else.  But  when  from  any  reason — short  crops,  low 
prices,  hard  times — agriculture  is  depressed,  then  it  is 
that  manufacturers  talk  of  "overproduction,"  mer- 
chants of  dull  trade,  and  mechanics,  artisans  and  la- 
borers complain  that  they  can  not  find  work.  The 
preamble  to  the  constitution  of  the  National  Grange 
reads :  "  Individual  happiness  depends  upon  general 
prosperity.  The  prosperity  of  a  nation  is  in  propor- 
tion to  the  value  ot  its  productions.  The  soil  is  the 
source  from  whence  we  derive  all  that  constitutes 
wealth  ;  without  it  we  would  have  no  agriculture,  no 
manufacture,  no  commerce.  Of  all  the  material  gifts 
of  the  Creator  the  various  productions  of  the  vegetable 


OBJECTS   OF   THE   GRANGE.  447 

world  are  of  the  first  importance.  The  art  of  agricul- 
ture is  the  parent  and  precursor  of  all  arts,  and  its 
products  the  foundation  of  all  wealth."  All  history 
proves  that  where  agriculture  has  prospered  the  nation 
has  prospered.  The  Grange  seeks  "the  greatest 
good  to  the  greatest  number,"  and  so  benefits  manu- 
facturers, trade  and  commerce,  as  well  as  the  farmer 
and  his  family. 

The  Grange  is  organized  on  a  complete  system, 
with  local,  county,  state  and  national  bodies,  so  that 
it  can  be  used  for  local,  county,  state  and  national 
purposes.  The  same  principle  of  united  effort,  or 
union  of  strength,  runs  through  all  its  various  bodies, 
and  its  members  "  united  by  the  strong  and  faithful 
ties  of  agriculture,"  are  keeping  step  to  its  music  of 
advance  and  reform.  A  mighty  army,  an  army  of 
peace,  yet  gaining  victories  as  great  as  those  of  war. 
An  army  that  knows  no  North,  no  South,  no  East,  no 
West,  but  knows  the  farmers  of  our  country  and  their 
cause,  the  cause  of  patriotism  and  of  humanity. 

As  a  brief  history  of  the  Grange  is  given  on  other 
pages  of  this  work  there  is  no  necessity  for  repetition 
here,  suffice  it  to  say  that  in  common  with  all  other 
forward  steps  in  the  world's  history,  the  early  days  of 
the  Grange  were  days  of  struggle,  of  opposition,  of 
misrepresentation,  Even  farmers  sometimes  opposed 
it.  Mistakes  were  made  in  its  earlier  work.  Its  own 
members  did  not  always  understand  it.  It  sometimes 
fell  into  improper  hands.     Still  the  child  grew  and 

27 


448  OBJECTS   OF   THE   GRANGE. 

waxed  strong,  for  M  Truth  is  mighty  and  will  prevail." 
Political  parties  have  their  "  platforms,"  churches 
have  their  "creeds,"  our  forefathers  had  their  "De- 
claration of  Independence  ;  "  so  the  farmers  have  their 
Grange  platform,  their  creed,  their  "  Declaration  of 
Purposes,"  and  it  is  also  given  on  the  pages  of  this 
book.  It  is  the  foundation,  the  starting  point  of  this 
organization.  It  contains  not  the  words  of  an  individ- 
ual alone,  but  it  is  the  "  official' ;  language  of  the 
Order  itself.  In  it  will  be  found  what  the  Grange  al- 
ways has  been,  what  it  is  now  and  what  it  proposes 
to  be  and  do  in  the  future.  I  would  commend  it  to  all 
careful  readers  and  thinkers,  and  would  ask  them,  are 
not  its  contents  words  of  truth  and  soberness  ?  If 
these  principles  are  put  into  practice  will  any  injury 
result  to  individuals  or  to  our  country?  But  rather 
will  they  not  advance  the  welfare  of  the  family,  the 
neighborhood,  the  state  and  the  nation.  Note  also, 
how  these  same  principles  have  been  incorporated  in- 
to the  platforms  of  several  of  the  younger  farmers' 
organizations. 

In  a  single  word  it  may  be  said  that  the  Grange 
means  education.  It  teaches  the  farmer  that  he  has 
mind  as  well  as  muscle,  brains  as  well  as  land,  and 
that  it  pays  him  to  cultivate  the  one  as  well  as  the 
other,  for  "knowledge  is  power."  Brain  always  has 
ruled  muscle  and  always  will.  As  is  the  soul  above 
the  body,  so  is  brain  above  muscle.  The  farmer  and 
his  interests  will  be  advanced  just  in  proportion  as  he 


OBJECTS    OF   THE    GRANGE.  449 

improves  his  education  in  all  things  that  pertain  to 
him  in  his  several*  relations,  as  a  farmer,  as  a  man 
and  as  a  citizen. 

The  Grange  is  educating  the    farmer  in  matters 
of  business,  that  it  is  just  as  much  a  part  of  his  busi- 
ness to  sell  a  crop  as  it  is  to  grow  it ;  just  as  much  to 
his  advantage  to   know   how  to  spend   his  money  as 
how  to  earn   it.      He   is   learning  the  laws  of  supply 
and  demand,  how  to  handle  "  trusts,"  "  corners,"  and 
dealing  in  "  futures."      He  has  learned  how  to  control 
the  great  corporations  who  control  the  commerce  of 
the  country,  to  secure  the  passage  of  an  Inter-State 
commerce  law,  and  already,  in  two  notable  instances, 
viz.,  in  Vermont   and   Delaware,   the   State  Granges 
brought  cases  before  the  Inter-State  Commerce  Com- 
mission   and    secured    reductions    in     discriminating 
freight  charges  amounting  to  from  twenty  to   thirty- 
three  per  cent,    saving   in  a  single  year  amounts  run- 
ning up  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars.     The 
Grange  has  been  educating  the  farmers  in  fire  and 
life   insurance,  and    hundreds    of  Grange   companies 
have   been  for  years   affording    ample   protection  in 
these  directions,  and  saving  others  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands   of  dollars    for   farmers    who  have   learned  to 
mind  their  own  business.     A  late  report  of  the  busi- 
ness done  by  a  number  of  these  companies  in   New 
York    State    show    savi?igs   (above   the    usual    rate3 
charged   in   city  companies)  in   three  years  time  of 
1,229.10.  Grange  co-operative  stores,  creameries, 


450  OBJECTS   OF   THE  GRANGE. 

schools,  etc.,  have  been  in  successful  operation  for 
years.  Grain  elevators,  grain  warehouses,  freight 
lines,  fruit-growers  and  other  "exchanges,"  and  doz- 
ens of  other  organized  business  helps  are  springing 
up  more  and  more  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  The 
"Grange  Bank  of  California,"  in  San  Francisco,  has 
been  running  some  fourteen  years,  with  a  capital  of 
$  1,000,000  and  has  loaned  $3,000,000  in  a  single  year 
upon  grain  stored  in  warehouses  that  farmers  them- 
selves have  built,  and  so  aided  in  breaking  up  "cor- 
ners" and  in  getting  better  prices.  Other  Grange 
banks  are  running  successfully  in  other  States. 

The  Grange  is  educating  the  farmer  about  taxes — 
equal  and  unequal,  direct  and  indirect ;  about  finance, 
scarce  money  and  dear  money,  or  plenty  of  money 
and  cheap  money ;  about  the  money  furnished  one 
class  of  citizens  by  government  for  one  per  cent,  and 
for  which  the  people  must  pay  six,  eight  or  ten  per 
cent ;  about  the  demonetization  of  silver  (for  the  few) 
and  the  free  coinage  of  silver  (for  the  many) ;  about 
tariffs — for  manufacturers — and  free  raw  materials — 
also  for  manufacturers — and  farmers  left  out  on  both 
counts  ;  so  he  has  learned  to  insist  upon  "equality  be- 
fore the  tariff  law,"  and  before  all  laws.  He  has 
learned  that  cash  is  king  ;  to  get  out  of  debt  and 
keep  out.  That  rates  of  interest  for  money  higher  than 
the  average  earnings  of  capital  invested  in  productive 
industries  gives  capital  an  unfair  advantage  over  labor; 
that  English  two  per  cent  capital  coming  over  here  is 


OBJECTS   OF   THE    GRANGE.  451 

absorbing  millions  of  acres  of  our  land  under  fore- 
closure because  of  our  high  rate  of  interest ;  this  same 
cheap  foreign  capital  buying  up  and  running  our  rail- 
roads, our  mines  and  our  factories,  the  profits  all  go- 
ing across  the  Atlantic.  Having  learned  these  lessons 
the  farmer  in  the  Grange  insists  upon  lower  rates  of 
interest  as  a  true  "  protection  to  American  industries." 

The  farmers  are  discussing  and  educating  them- 
selves upon  all  questions  of  political  economy.  The 
following  are  the  instructions  given  the  Lecturer  of 
the  National  Grange  in  the  preparation  of  official  cir- 
culars, leaflets  and  tracts  for  distribution  to  the  Grange 
and  agricultural  papers,  and  at  Grange  meetings. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Worthy  Lecturer  of  the 
National  Grange  be  instrusted  to  continue  the  distri- 
bution of  subjects  for  discussion  to  subordinate 
Granges,  and  that  questions  of  political  economy  be 
given  prominence,  such  as  gold,  silver,  greenbacks, 
national  banks,  corporatious,  inter-state  and  trans- 
continental transportation  and  the  tariff  as  it  relates 
to  agriculture." 

These  questions  have  been  and  are  being  dis- 
cussed, and  an  intelligent  public  opinion  has  been  and 
is  being  created  on  all  these  important  questions. 
Grange  agitation,  more  than  all  other  causes  com- 
bined, secured  the  passage  of  the  Inter-State  com- 
merce law,  the  Oleomargarine  law,  the  Hatch  Experi- 
ment Station  law,  the  bill  erecting  the  Department  of 
Agriculture,  with    its    head  a   member  of  the   Presi- 


452  OBJECTS   OF    THE    GRANGE. 

dent's  Cabinet,  saved  the  large  appropriation  'to  the 
States  for  agricultural  education  by  the  limit  to  be 
applied  only  in  instruction  in  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts,  etc."  It  advocates  pure  food,  the  Aus- 
tralian ballot  law,  an  income  tax,  election  of  United 
States  Senators  by  direct  vote  of  the  people,  and  all 
laws  which  will  protect  our  people  "in  life,  liberty  and 
the  pursuit  of  happiness." 

Another  good  feature  of  Grange  education  is  in 
politics,  not  partisan  politics,  but  true  politics,  "the 
science  of  government,"  as  Webster  defines  the  word. 
The  members  of  the  Grange  have  been  learning  that 
wheat,  corn,  pork,  beef,  tobacco,  rice  or  cotton  raised, 
on  a  Democratic  farm  are  controlled  by  the  same  laws 
as  the  products  of  a  Republican  farm ;  that  what  will 
injure  one  farmer  will  injure  another ;  or  the  benefit 
of  one  is  the  benefit  of  his  neighbor;  that  politicians 
have  divided  the  farmers'  birthright  of  strength  by 
"pairing"  them  off  one  against  the  other  in  different 
political  parties,  and  so  their  votes  don't  count  except 
for  the  benefit  of  others  ;  that  parties  are  all  right  in 
their  places,  but  that  the  people  must  run  the  parties, 
and  not  the  parties  the  people.  The  Grange  teaches 
the  farmer  independent  voting,  to  carry  out  reforms, 
inside  his  own  party,  if  he  can,  but  outside  of  it  if  he 
must.  Many  politicians  in  all  parties  have  felt  the 
effects  of  this  lesson  of  late. 

It  is  plainly  to  be  seen  that  it  is    impossible  to 
give  in  a  brief  space   all   the  good  points  claimed  for 


OBJECTS    OF    THE    GRANGE.  463 

this  old  and  long-tried  national  farmers  organization. 
All  the  teachings  tends  to  elevate  and  not  degrade. 
It  makes  brighter  and  happier  homes,  it  has  its  liter- 
ary features,  its  social  and  moral  features.  It  teaches 
farmers  to  give  their  boys  and  girls  a  better  chance  in 
the  way  of  an  education  ;  to  have  more  books,  music 
and  flowers.  Then,  too,  farmers  have  learned  to  take 
wife  and  mother,  daughter  and  sister,  to  the  Grange 
as  well,  that  they  also  need  the  recreation,  the  educa- 
tion, the  benefit ;  that  as  are  the  mothers  so  will  the 
sons  be  also ;  that  woman's  influence  in  the  Grange 
is  always  for  good,  for  all  that  is  pure.  No  better 
and  more  effective  temperance  organization  exists 
than  the  Grange.  Charity  is  a  prominent  character- 
istic. It  makes  the  farmer  better  to  himself,  better 
to  his  neighbor,  better  to  his  country,  and  better  to 
his  God.  It  has  by  none  of  its  teachings  ever  made 
a  man  or  woman  worse,  but  it  has  made  hundreds  of 
thousands  better.  Its  lessons  all  develop  the  good, 
the  beautiful,  the  true.  The  half  has  not  been  told 
of  its  good  work,  and  it  will  do  more  and  better  in 
the  future.  Every  farmer  and  his  family  should  be- 
come members. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  K.  Beecher,  of  Elmira,  N.  Y., 
in  an  address  before  the  National  Grange,  in  1879, 
said  :  "  Already  in  the  various  lessons  and  lectures 
to  which  I  have  listened  with  profit  again  and  again, 
I  discern  that  we  have  a  savor  of  true  religion  or  out- 
look  toward    God.     This   outlook   is  the  life,  in  my 


454  OBJECTS   OF    THE    GRANGE. 

judgment,  of  the  Grange.  I  recognize  the  Grange  a§ 
I  do  any  other  church.  There  are  qualities  in  the 
Grange  which  I  long  to  transfer  to  the  church.  I 
speak  to  you  this  evening  of  a  theme  which  has  been 
the  meditation  of  my  lifetime.  '  We  are  God's  hus- 
bandry,' says  the  apostle.  That  is  to  say,  God  in- 
tends to  grow  a  crop  of  men  and  women,  and  of  all 
the  crops  that  can  be  raised  upon  a  farm  I  know  of 
none  more  worthy  of  attention." 

The  Rev.  A.  B.  Grosh,  one  of  the  seven  found- 
ers of  the  Grange,  now  dead,  once  said  :  "  Let  us 
then  show  our  gratitude  to  God  by  conforming  to 
His  law,  by  obedience  to  His  will,  by  praying,  speak- 
ing and  working  to  make  our  order  His  agent  in  the 
improvement  of  society  and  in  promoting  the  welfare 
of  our  nation  and  our  race.  Let  us  make  it  a  divine 
institution  for  the  blessing  of  the  laborer,  of  women, 
of  childhood,  that  they  may  "make  it  yet  nobler, 
greater  and  better  in  all  good  ways  and  words  and 
works." 

Having  survived  its  years  of  trial,  its  years  of 
perhaps  too  rapid  growth  and  subsequent  creation, 
this  great  farmers'  organization  has  for  twelve  years 
past  been  steadily  advancing  in  strength  of  numbers 
and  in  the  strong  hold  it  has  upon  the  respect  of  its 
membership,  and  of  the  people  ol  all  classes  in  our 
country.  Its  growth  is  now  healthy  and  sure.  As 
many  as  107  new  Granges  were  started  in  a  single 
State  last  year  (1890)  and  the   first  three  months  of 


OBJECTS   OF  THE   GRANGE.  455 

this  year  show  new  organizations  in  twenty  of  our 
States.  Farmers  are  uniting  with  it  now  through  no 
excitement,  but  from  a  conviction  that  it  is  right, 
founded  on  good  principles,  and  that  they  need  it  in 
their  neighborhood,  just  as  they  do  a  school  or  a 
church,  and  they  are  therefore  as  deliberately  build- 
ing the  Grange  to-day  as  they  build  the  church  and 
school.  A  trinity  of  good  influences,  either  one  of 
which  being  lacking  in  any  neighborhood  leaves  that 
community  just  so  much  behind  the  one  that  has  all 
three.  Just  as  "  Truth  is  truth  to  the  day  of  reck- 
oning," and  "  the  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers,"  so 
the  great  truths  taught  in  the  Grange  will  go  onward 
as  the  years  go  by.  Already  a  new  generation  has 
come  to  the  front  and  is  taking  up  the  work  of  the 
fathers  who  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Grange  deep 
and  strong,  and  baptized  it  with  the  motto,  "  Esto 
perpetual 

"  Go  up  and  on  thy  task  well  done, 

Its  morning  promise  well  fulfilled, 
Arise  to  duties  yet  undone, 

The  higher  tasks  that  God  has  willed." 


456  THE  farmers'  league. 


COPTER  XV11L 

THE    FARMERS'    LEAGUE, 


BY  — 


HERBERT  MYRICK,  Secretary  National  League. 

What  the  League  is — It  is  a  Political  Party — Its  Relations 
to  other  Bodies — Plan  of  Organization — Growth  of  the  League — 
Work  of  the  Local  League — Objects  of  the  League — How  they 
prepare  to  work — Conclusion. 

*§«,,  HAVE  now  given  a  brief  outline 
of  several  national  organizations 
of  agricultural  workers,  and  it 
would  seem  at  first  sight  as  if 
there  was  no  room  or  need  for  any  further 
organization.  There  is,  however,  a  very- 
vigorous  organization  which  finds  abundant  work  at 
hand,  and  a  field  in  which  to  work  as  yet  unoccupied. 
This  introduces  us  to  the  Farmers'  League.  The 
league  is  a~  non-secret,  independent,  non-partisan  or- 
ganization, in  harmony  with  the  grange,  alliance  and 
kindred  associations,  agricultural  societies,  farmers' 
clubs  and  similar  organizations.  These  are  mainly 
devoted  to  the  farmers'  social,  educational  and  finan- 
cial improvement.  But  the  league  goes  a  step  further.^ 
Its  object  is  the  farmers'  political  welfare.  The  work 
of  the  league  is  directed  toward  securing  a  just  repre- 


the  farmers'  league.  459 

sentation  and  treatment  of  the  agricultural  interests  in 
Congress  and  in  the  Legislatures,  and  due  recognition 
of  farmers  in  all  public  affairs,  without  conflicting  with 
the  best  interests  of  the  entire  public.     It  consists  of 
a  national  league   and  of  state  leagues,  with  county 
and  town  leagues.     The  national  league  has  general 
supervision  of  the  affairs  of  the  farmers'  league  and 
the  work  of  organization,  and  attends  specially  to  the 
farmers'  interests  in  Congress.    The  state  leagues,  as 
soon  as  organized,  push  the  work  of  organization  in 
their  respective   states,    and   attend   to   the  farmers' 
special    interests    in    the    Legislature.       The    county 
league  attends  to  the  farmers'  interests  in  county  mat- 
ters, and  to  affairs  in  senatorial  and   representative 
districts.    The  town  leagues  furnish  the  delegates  who 
constitute  the  county  leagues,  and  attend  to  the  farm- 
ers' interests  in  local  districts,  in  town  affairs  and  in 
each  election  precinct. 

According  to  the  above  it  seems  that  the  especial 
field  in  which  the  league  is  to  distinguish  itself,  is  that 
of  practical  politics.  As  it  is  important  to' note  this 
distinction,  let  us  quote  from  the  declaration  of  the 
Massachusetts  State  League,  in  which  the  Grange  is 
taken  to  illustrate  the  distinction,  of  course  the  alli- 
ance would  have  served  this  purpose  just  as  well  : 
Among  the  various  farmers'  organizations  none  is 
better  known  than  the  Grange,  and  we  would  urge 
every  tiller  of  the  soil  to  identify  himself  with  the 
grange  movement.     It  means  increased' social  advan- 


460  THE  farmers'  league. 

tages  for  himself  and  his  family,  overcoming  in  a  great 
measure  the  isolation  of  farm  life.  It  means  financial 
advantage  in  the  help  to  be  secured  from  co-operative 
buying  and  selling.  It  also  means  increased  educa- 
tional development  in  the  line  of  agriculture,  the  prin- 
ciples of  government  and  general  culture.  But  there 
come  times  when  this  is  not  enough.  The  Grange 
may  have  taught  the  farmer  his  political  duties,  it  may 
have  instructed  him  in  the  principles  of  political 
science,  but  when  it  comes  to  taking  direct  action  in 
partisan  politics,  the  grange  keeps  aloof,  and  the  ma- 
chinery of  some  other  organization  is  needed.  The 
Farmers'  League  isorganized  for  this  specific  purpose, 
and  in  all  cases  where  direct  political  action  is  needed 
we  recommend  it  to  the  farmers,  that  the  Grange  may 
not  be  swerved  from  its  original  purpose  of  non-par- 
ticipation in  partisan  politics,  and  thereby  weakened. 
We  must  not  make  the  mistake  of  supposing  the 
league  is  a  new  political  party.  Its  work  is  for  the 
benefit  of  the  whole  community  and  all  classes.  It 
aims  to  repeal  and  abolish  special  favors  to  other 
classes.  It  seeks  no  favors  for  farmers  at  the  expense 
of  other  people,  except  only  at  the  expense  of  the 
gamblers  and  monopolists  who  are  now  living  on  the 
life-blood  of  the  common  people.  It  is  not  a  scheme 
to  put  farmers  in  office  irrespective  of  their  qualifica- 
tions. But  it  is  the  determination  of  the  league  to 
secure  the  nomination  of  the  very  best  men  by  both 
parties  and  the  election  of  the  men  who  will  best  rep- 


THE  farmers'  league.  461 

resent  what  the  farmers  want,  yet  let  all  nominees 
and  all  officers  elected  be  farmers  as  far  as  possible. 
It  is  not  a  scheme  to  overturn  the  government  or  force 
it  into  socialism.  But  it  is  simply  a  means  through 
which  farmers  may  work  effectively  in  carrying  out 
their  public  duties  as  citizens.  It  is  not  a  farmers' 
party.  But  through  the  league  farmers  can  make 
their  vote  count  for  their  own  interests  and  for  the 
welfare  of  the  whole  public,  instead  of  simply  electing 
some  politician  who  wants  office  for  what  he  can  get 
out  of  it,  irrespective  of  the  real  welfare  of  the  people, 
no  matter  to  what  party  they  may  belong. 

The  plan  of  organization  is  extremely  simple.  No 
oath  of  secrecy  is  required  of  members.  They  simply 
sign  a  pledge  to  "  work  for  the  farmers'  interersts  in 
politics  and  legislation,  so  far  as  this  can  be  done  with- 
out conflicting  with  the  welfare  of  the  entire  people." 
But  of  course  as  sensible  men  the  members  are  not 
supposed  to  proclaim  their  purposes  from  the  house 
tops.  They  are  supposed  to  keep  a  discreet  tongue 
in  their  heads.  The  canvass  is  managed  quietly  and 
discreetly.  The  members  of  the  league  plan  the  work 
and  keep  it  to  themselves. 

Then  the  various  political  rings  and  bosses  which 
have  heretofore  controlled  all  parties,  may  not  defeat 
the  will  of  the  people.  No  oath-bound  secrecy  is  de- 
sired, simply  such  protection  as  will  insure  the  suc- 
cess of  their  plans  against  the  wiles  of  the  profes- 
sional  politicians   who   have   so    long    had  practical 


462  THE  farmers'  grange. 

control  of  both  parties.  In  other  words,  the  League 
says,  "farmers  of  America,  let  us  attend  to  our  own 
business  ;  let  us  do  our  duties  as  true  and  patriotic 
citizens  ;  but  let  us  do  it  in  such  a  way  that  our  efforts 
will  succeed." 

The  League  is  a  very  recent  organization,  but 
has  had  a  rapid  growth.  It  originated  in  Massa- 
chusetts. The  dairy  interests  of  the  farmers  of  that 
State  constitute  no  inconsiderable  item  of  their  income. 
They  suffered  greatly  from  bogus  butter  and  cheese. 
They  especially  desired  the  legislature  to  enact  a  bill 
to  prevent  the  manufacturers  of  oleomargarine  and 
bogus  cheese  from  coloring  them  like  the  genuine 
article,  but  they  could  procure  the  passage  of  such  a 
law.  Realizing  that  these  and  other  wrongs  suffered 
by  farmers  could  never  be  secured  by  simply  peti- 
tioning for  justice,  the  New  England  Homestead, 
early  in  the  fall  of  1889,  suggested  that  the  farmers' 
political  league  be  organized  to  carry  these  reforms 
squarely  into  politics,  and  make  the  issue  in  all  pri- 
maries, caucuses  and  conventions  of  all  parties.  The 
idea  met  with  instant  favor.  The  Farmers'  League  of 
Massachusetts  was  temporarily  organized  in  October, 
and  there  not  being  time  enough  to  perfect  permanent 
organizations  in  every  township  in  season  for  elec- 
tions, the  plan  was  adopted  of  circulating  a  pledge 
among  the  voters  in  agricultural  districts,  irrespective 
of  party,  whereby  they  bound  themselves  "to  vote 
only  for  such  candidates  for  governor  and  for  the  leg: 


the  farmers'  league.  463 

Islature  as  shall  pledge  themselves   to  work  and  vote 
for  a  bill  to  prohibit  the   coloring  of  oleo  like  butter. 
The  results  were  so  satisfactory  that  the  move- 
ment attracted  the   instant  attention  of  farmers  gen- 
erally.    As  a  consequence,  the  officers  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts   State    League   were    overwhelmned    with 
requests  to  start  the  movement  in  other  States.     To 
meet  this  demand  the  Farmers'  National  League  was 
finally  organized,  and  a  temporary   constitution  and 
officers  elected,  the  same   in  all  essential  respects  as 
those  elected  and  adopted  at  the  permanent  organiza- 
tion of  the  National  League  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Sept. 
I,   1890.     With  this  to  head    the    movement,  rapid 
progress  in  forming  permanent  leagues  among  the 
farmers  for  political    work    went  on   throughout  the 
country.      The  New  York    State    Farmers'    League 
perfected   its   preliminary  organization  in    February, 
and  was    followed   later   by  the  Maine,  Connecticut, 
Pennsylvania  and   Vermont   State  Leagues.     These 
consist  of  two  delegates  from   each  county  league  in 
the    State,    together  with  one    delegate    from    each 
local    league   in  unorganized    counties.     A  sufficient 
number  of  local  and  county  leagues  are  being  per- 
fected to  lead  to  the  organization  within  a  short  time 
of  State   Leagues  of  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey, 
Maryland,    Virginia,    West    Virginia,   Ohio,    Illinois, 
Indiana,   Minnesota,   Michigan,   Colorado,  Arkansas, 
Kansas,  Kentucky,  Georgia,  Iowa,  Washington,  Ore- 
gon, California,  Missouri,  Nevada  and  Nebraska.     A 


464  the  farmers'  league. 

start  has  also  been  made  in  every  other  state  and 
territory,  the  work  in  which  is  now  advancing  so  rapidly 
that  by  1892  the  state  organization  will  be  perfected 
in  every  state  and  territory  of  the  United  States. 

The  league  is  built  up  from  the  basis  of  the  local 
or  township  organization.  The  local  school  district 
or  township  league  is  the  foundation  of  the  entire 
superstructure.  This  local  or  foundation  league  is 
started  in  each  town  by  five  or  more  bona-fide  farmers 
securing  a  charter  and  outfit  from  the  national  league. 
Then  all  future  members  are  voted  in,  a  majority  vote 
being  sufficient  to  admit  a  member.  Membership  is 
confined  to  farmers  or  those  directly  interested  in  ag- 
riculture. Mechanics  who  hold  small  farms  or  tracts 
of  land,  which  they  work  when  not  engaged  at  their 
trade,  may  be  admitted  if  the  local  league  so  desires. 
But  professional  men,  especially  lawyers,  are  excluded. 
This  makes  every  local  league  the  judge  as  to  who 
shall  be  admitted  to  membership.  Thus  a  safe-guard 
is  put  up  against  letting  in  political  tricksters,  aristo- 
cratic office  holders  and  others  who  have  no  business 
in  the  league  and  who  would  use  it  to  simply  further 
their  own  ends.  Where  any  question  arises  as  to  the 
advisability  of  admitting  any  candidate  for  member- 
ship, a  ruling  on  the  subject  will  be  made  by  the  na- 
tional secretary  on  application.  Thus  the  local  league 
may  avoid  making  a  decision  in  certain  cases  which 
might  cause  some  ill-feeling  were  they  to  refuse  to 
admit  some  person  who,  although  personally  very  ex- 


THE  farmers'  league.  465 

cellent,  may  have  no  real  interest  in  the  farmers' 
movement  and  not  be  any  help  to  the  League.  Women 
are  eligible  to  membership  on  the  same  terms  as  men. 

From  what  we  have  said  as  to  the  purposes  of 
the  League  we  can  see  at  once  that  the  precise  objects 
demanded  will  vary  with  different  localities.  For  in- 
stance, protection  against  fraudulent  dairy  products 
may  be  especially  desired  in  some  of  the  Eastern 
States.  Other  evils  to  be  remedied  are  of  much  greater 
extent.  Equal  taxation  is  demanded  in  nearly  every 
state.  The  following  specific  demands  were  adopted 
by  the  national  league  in  1890  :  In  tariff  matters  we 
demand  that  the  farmers'  labor  and  products  be 
equally  considered  with  the  skilled  labor  and  manu- 
factures of  other  industries.  But  internal  affairs  at 
present  directly  affect  the  farmer,  especially  our  sys- 
tems of  taxation,  transportation  and  trade,  and  the 
general  tendency  to  create  laws  for  the  benefit  of  the 
few  at  the  expense  of  the  many. 

Consequently  we  demand  the  equal  taxation  of 
personal  property,  as  well  as  real  estate  ;  that  legisla- 
tion should  restrict  transportation  charges  to  a  rate 
that  shall  pay  only  a  reasonable  interest  on  the  actual 
and  legitimate  capital  invested,  exclusive  of  "  water; " 
that  artificial  conditions  under  which  great  monopolies 
are  created  at  the  unjust  expense  of  the  people  should 
be  corrected. 

The  buying  and  selling  of  votes  and  other  corrupt 
use  of  money  in  elections  should  be  prevented.     The 

28 


466  the  farmers'  league. 

principles  of  the  Australian  ballot  law  should  be  uni- 
versally adopted. 

Immigration  should  be  more  faithfully  restricted, 
and  alien  land  ownership  prohibited.  Inasmuch  as 
the  declared  object  of  the  league  is  to  work  for  the 
farmers'  interest  in  the  arena  of  politics,  they  must  be 
expected  to  take  hold  in  a  way  that  shows  they  mean 
business.  No  half-way  measures  will  enable  farmers 
to  compete  with  well -organized  cliques  in  every  com- 
munity that  runs  existing  parties.  Talking  it  over  in 
the  grange  or  alliance  or  calling  a  meeting  to  discuss 
the  situation  is  not  enough.  Even  a  union  of  these 
organizations  by  delegates  does  not  cover  the  case. 
No  loose  methods  or  unorganized  plans  will  accom- 
plish much.  The  only  way  is  for  the  bonafide  farmers 
of  each  township  to  unite  in  a  local  "  farmers'  political 
league,"  with  the  specific  object  of  running  the 
caucuses  and  conventions  of  all  parties.  Once  thor- 
oughly organized  for  this  job,  farmers  will  quickly  find 
that  they  have  both  the  brains  and  the  numbers  to 
carry  it  out. 

In  their  league  meetings,  while  all  subjects  of  in- 
terest to  farmers  and  their  families  may  be  discussed 
and  considered,  the  members  of  the  League  should 
keep  constantly  before  them  the  fact  that  their  princi- 
pal object  is  the  farmers'  political  welfare.  Conse- 
quently, efforts  should  be  concentrated  on  this  subject 
as  much  as  possible.  Discuss  what  farmers  most  want 
from  the  town,  county,  state  or  nation.     Having  de- 


THE  farmers'  league.  467 

cided  on  the  measures  wanted  then  the  League  mem- 
bers are  supposed  to  bend  all  their  energies  to  secur- 
ing the  election  of  the  man  or  men  who  will  best  help 
these  measures.  Candidates  are  decided  upon.  A 
candidate  for  each  political  party  that  is  expected  to 
put  a  ticket  in  the  field.  Should  these  candidates  be 
nominated  then  the  contest  will  be  simply  in  the  old 
party  lines.  Should  but  one  be  nominated,  then  the 
members  of  the  League  are  supposed  to  lose  sight  of 
politics  and  vote  and  work  for  their  candidate  who  is 
nominated. 

It  is  evident  that  we  have  in  the  Farmers'  League 
a  very  simple  but  very  practical  and  extremely  pow- 
erful engine  for  advancing  such  legislation  as  the 
farmers  desire.  Not  the  least  of  its  advantages  lie  in 
the  fact  that  it  can  so  readily  unite  itself  with  the 
grange,  alliance,  wheel  or  union  which  is  established 
in  any  locality.  As  political  power  is  so  largely  in 
the  hands  of  farmers,  this  movement  bids  fair  to  exer- 
cise a  great  influence  on  future  legislation.  There  is 
in  all  this,  however,  no  cause  for  alarm.  The  farmers 
of  our  land  are  neither  socialists  nor  anarchists.  Yet 
they  feel  that  there  are  most  grievous  evils  to  be 
remedied.  They  are  conscious  of  the  fact  that  they 
can  probably  force  such  legislation  as  they  desire,  but 
they  are  not  without  a  sense  of  duty  that  such  power 
carries  with  it.  They  hope  in  a  short  time  to  purify 
our  politics,  rule  our  Legislatures  and  Congress,  and 
restore  our  government  to  the  people,  so  that  govern- 


468  THE  farmers'  league. 

ment  shall  be  by  the  people,  for  all  the  people.  In 
this  grand  work  of  fulfilling  their  political  duties  as 
citizens,  farmers  will  receive  the  hearty  support  of 
patriotic  men  and  women  in  all  honorable  vocations. 
This  practical  assumption  of  self-government  by  the 
producers  of  our  great  republic  will  effectually  guard 
our  beloved  country  against  the  evil  tendencies  which 
now  beset  it.  Let  the  farmers  but  lead  the  way 
through  the  farmers'  league,  and  without  multiplying 
political  parties,  they  can  unite  all  faithful  citizens  in 
the  work  of  reforming  existing  abuses  in  local,  county, 
state  and  national  affairs.  Certainly  the  men  who 
stand  by  the  right  in  this  bloodless  revolution  of  the 
ballot-box,  do  equally  as  patriotic  work  for  their 
country  as  did  their  forefathers  who  laid  its  foundations 
with  fire  and  sword  more  than  one  hundred  years  ago. 


PATRONS   OF   INDUSTRY.  469 


COPTER  XIX- 

PATRONS  OF  INDUSTRY. 


—  BY  — 


W.  H.  SMITH,  Supreme  Secretary. 

Not  Confined  to  Agriculturalists — Preamble — The  Objects — 
Growth  of  the  Order — The  Working  Machinery  — Co-operative 
Features — System  of  Arbitration — The  Patent  Laws — Scheme  for 
Saving  Money — Their  Relations  to  other  Organizations. 

HAVE  now  considered  several  or- 
ganizations of  agriculturalists. 
Let  us  now  inquire  about  one  of 
the  later  formed  bodies,  but 
which  has  shown  itself  possessed  of  great 
vitality.  The  name  of  this  organization  is 
"  Patrons  of  Industry,"  as  it  indicates,  it  is  not  confined 
to  agriculturalists.  The  following  preamble  sets  forth 
the  reasons  for  founding  a  new  organization. 

"  Being  impressed  with  the  fact  that  all  parties 
interested  in  commerce,  manufactures,  transportation, 
communication,  the  liquor  traffic  and  other  important 
business  enterprises  are  organized  and  using  their 
combined  influence  for  the  promotion  of  their  own 
special  interests  at  the  expense  of  the  producing  in- 
dustry of  the  country ;  thereby  causing  an  improper 
and  unnatural  and  unjust  distribution  of  the  products 


470  PATRONS  OF    INDUSTRY. 

of  labor,  tending  to  an  absorbence  by  the  favored  few 
of  the  wealth  produced  :  which  process  has  already- 
concentrated  so  much  of  the  wealth  of  the  country  in 
a  few  hands,  that  a  minority  dictate  the  government 
policy  of  our  nation  to  favor  monopoly  and  oppres- 
sively increase  the  burdens  of  honest,  unprotected  toil, 
which,  long  continued,  must  result  in  the  servile  de- 
pendence of  poverty  stricken  masses :  upon  the  un- 
scrupulous, avaricious  domination  of  the  aristocratic 
few,  while  the  farmers  and  employes  upon  whose  labor 
the  prosperity  of  our  country  depends  are  either  un- 
organized or  with  so  little  cohesion  as  to  be  unable  to 
compete  with  the  powerful  combinations  which  grow 
rich  and  more  powerful  by  the  unjust  and  dishonest 
exactions  which  the  continually  changing  conditions 
enable  them  to  make  upon  those  at  whose  expense 
they  live  and  thrive. 

We,  therefore,  the  citizens,  farmers  and  employes 
of  North  America,  believing  that  Almighty  God,  as 
the  source  of  all  power  and  ruler  of  all  nations,  should 
be  recognized  in  the  constitutions  of  all  societies, 
states  and  nations,  do  hereby,  with  due  reverence  to 
Him,  associate  ourselves  together,  and  do  most 
solemnly  pledge  ourselves,  one  to  another  and  each 
to  all,  to  labor  together  in  uncompromising  hostility  to 
all  monopolistic  encroachments  upon  our  rights  by  the 
combinations  herein  before  named,  and  for  the  govern- 
mental control  or  prohibition  of  any  business  or  meth- 
ods that  tend  to  encourage  or  enable  the  few  to  lead 


PATRONS  OF   INDUSTRY.  471 

lives  of  ease  and  luxury,  in  idleness,  at  the  expense  of 
the  toiling  masses,  or  that  tend  to  degrade  or  demor- 
alize the  people  or  render  them,  through  its  effects,  a 
sorrow  to  their  friends  and  a  burden  upon  producing 
energy. 

The  objects  of  the  order  are  to  secure  the  rights 
and  interests  of  agriculturalists  and  laborers  by  the 
use  of  such  legitimate  means  and  measures  as  will  se- 
cure to  each  those  inalienable  rights  guaranteed  by 
the  Declaration  of  American  Independence  and  to 
promote  their  rights  and  interests  by  protecting  them 
by  means  of  independent  co-operative  political  action 
from  the  rapacious  and  avaricious  greed  of  organized 
monopoly." 

It  is,  of  course,  evident  that  this  platform  is  broad 
enough  for  almost  any  patriotic  American  citizen  to 
stand  upon.  About  the  only  qualification  for  member- 
ship is  that  the  applicant  "must  be  of  good  moral 
character,  and  it  will  be  expected  that  they  will  refrain 
from  the  violation  of  civil  law." 

The  order  has  had  a  very  rapid  growth.  The 
secretary  of  the  Supreme  Convention  in  March  1891, 
was  enabled  to  make  the  following  gratifying  state- 
ment :  Starting  with  a  few  counties  in  Michigan,  less 
than  two  years  ago,  the  order  was  unheard  of  outside 
of  this  state,  to-day  we  have  good  working  associations 
in  thirteen  states  and  provinces  and  inquiries  coming 
from  every  state  in  the  Union. 

The  working  machinery  of  the  order  consists  of 


472  PATRONS   OF   INDUSTRY. 

several  associations.  There  is  first  the  Supreme  As- 
sociation, which  is  the  highest  tribunal  of  the  order. 
It  consists  of  the  officers,  a  board  of  three  trustees  and 
delegates  from  the  various  state  associations,  other- 
wise known  as  Grand  Associations.  A  state  is  not 
entitled  to  a  Grand  Association  unless  it  has  at  least 
six  county  associations,  and  a  county  association  can 
not  be  formed  unless  there  are  at  least  four  subordi- 
nate associations  in  it.  It  thus  appears  that  the  subor- 
dinate association  is  the  unit  of  organization.  It 
requires  at  least  ten  members  to  form  an  association. 
An  applicant  must  receive  at  least  a  two-third  vote  of 
all  the  members  present.  Ladies  are  admitted  to 
membership  as  well  as  gentlemen.  No  oath  is  re- 
quired, the  applicant  is  received  upon  his  honor  as  a 
citizen.  As  for  age,  each  subordinate  association 
settles  this  matter  to  suit  itself. 

This  order  has  some  provisions  in  its  By-Laws 
not  found  in  the  organizations  already  considered.  In 
the  case  of  sickness  or  death  of  a  member  we  find  the 
following  :  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  subordinate  asso- 
ciations to  appoint  a  relief  committee  to  visit  the  sick 
and  report  immediately  to  the  President,  who  shall  see 
to  it  that  suitable  watchers  are  provided  each  night  if 
necessary ;  and  the  subordinate  association  may  by 
its  by-laws,  provide  for  a  sick  benefit  fund,  and  for 
other  extraordinary  association  purposes.  In  case 
of  the  death  of  a  member  of  any  subordinate  associa- 
tion a  meeting  of  the  association  shall  be  immediately 


PATRONS    OF   INDUSTRY.  473 

called,  and  adjoining  associations  shall  be  notified,  and 
all  the  members  of  the  association  shall  attend  the 
funeral  in  a  body,  but  in  no  case  shall  there  be  any 
funeral  ceremonies  performed  by  the  association  as 
such.  Each  member  present  shall  wear  crape  on  the 
left  arm  as  a  token  of  respect  for  the  deceased  member. 

They  have  also  provided  for  a  system  of  arbitra- 
tion. On  any  disagreement  between  two  or  more 
members  of  an  association,  concerning  business  trans- 
actions which  can  not  be  settled  by  the  parties,  the 
President  of  the  association  shall  inquire  into  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case  and  shall  recommend  to  the 
parties  an  arbitration,  consisting  of  five,  two  chosen 
by  the  plaintiff  and  two  by  the  defendent,  which  four 
arbiters  so  chosen  shall  choose  a  fifth.  The  arbiters 
can  be  chosen  from  any  other  subordinate  associations 
in  the  same  county.  The  President  shall  preside,  and 
the  forms  of  trial  shall  be  observed  and  an  accurate 
record  kept  of  the  proceedings  and  testimony ;  but  if 
either  of  the  parties  be  dissatisfied  with  the  verdict  of 
the  arbitration  they  may  have  a  right  to  appeal  to  the 
county  association. 

In  case  of  an  appeal  taken  from  an  arbitration  of 
any  subordinate  association  to  the  county  association, 
said  association  shall  appoint  a  committee  of  twelve, 
to  whom  the  testimony  taken  in  the  arbitration  shall 
be  given  for  their  'decision.  If  any  excluded  person 
shall  feel  agrieved  for  reason  of  the  finding  of  the 
county  association  tribunal  he  shall  have  a  right  to 


474  PATRONS    OF    INDUSTRY. 

appeal  to  the  grand  association,  to  which  an  exact 
record  of  the  proceedings  and  testimony  of  the  trial 
shall  be  sent,  and  their  decision  shall  be  final. 

As  a  whole  the  Patrons  of  Industry  desire  sub- 
stantially the  same  legislation  as  the  organizations  we 
have  already  described.  In  general  we  read  that  they 
demand  such  legislation,  state  and  national,  as  will 
check  the  advance  in  financial  and  political  power  of 
all  classes  of  corporations,  monopolists  and  trusts,  and 
restrain  and  prevent  them  from  further  encroachments 
upon  the  rights  and  prosperity  of  the  laboring  and 
producing  classes. 

As  for  patent  laws,  they  demand  such  a  revision 
of  our  patent  laws  as  will  limit  the  rights  of  patentees 
to  a  shorter  period  of  time,  not  exceeding  ten  years, 
and  so  limit  the  issue  of  patents  as  to  prevent  the 
multiplication  of  mere  improvements  and  devices  of 
little  or  no  real  invention  or  practical  work,  but  which 
are  used  to  increase  the  expense  of  implements  and 
tools  to  the  farmer  and  consumer  and  put  exorbitant 
profits  into  the  pockets  of  manufacturers  and  capitalists. 

While  they  "  favor  a  co-operative  commercial 
warehouse  system  "  still  they  do  not  want  any  sub- 
treasury  plan  or  scheme.  They  declared  in  favor  of 
the  following  scheme  for  loaning  of  public  funds  : 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  upon  the  prosperity  and 
independence  of  the  farmers  depends  the  welfare  and 
comfort  of  the  nation,  and  that  from  them  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  funds  of  the  government  are  derived ; 


PATRONS   OF    INDUSTRY.  475 

therefore  we  demand  that  the  government  enact  laws 
whereby  money  may  be  loaned  to  the  people  on  a 
good  real  estate  security,  at  a  sufficiently  low  rate  of 
interest  to  free  their  home  from  the  grasp  of  exorbitant 
bankers  and  prove  our  institutions  to  be  a  protection 
to  those  in  need. 

While  the  order  is  anxious  to  keep  up  its  own 
distinctive  organization,  still  they  believe  in  co-opera- 
tion with  all  reform  organizations,  this  is  set  forth  in 
the  following  report. 

Recognizing  the  fact  that  trusts,  combinations  and 
monopolies  are  organized  for  the  sole  purpose  of  ex- 
torting unjust  and  unreasonable  profits,  and  that  tax- 
ation, the  most  discriminating  and  unjust,  is  imposed. 
That  legislation  is  in  the  interests  of  the  classes  as 
against  the  majority  of  the  people  and  honest  labor,  and 

Whereas,  We  believe  it  to  be  the  duty  of  the 
toiling  masses  of  this  country  to  protect  themselves 
from  the  encroachments  of  all  legalized  robbery 
emanating  from  any  source  whatever.  Realizing  the 
fact  also  that  there  is  in  existence  several  industrial 
organizations  representing  the  wealth  producers  of 
this  country,  differing  only  in  the  manner  of  arriving 
at  the  same  result ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  as  Patrons  of  Industry  we  believe 
in  co-operating  with  all  industrial  organizations  that 
have  for  their  object  the  promotion  of  the  wealth  pro- 
ducing classes,  both  financially  and  politically,  and 
that  we  invite  the  co-operation  of  all  labor  and  reform 


476  PATRONS    OF   INDUSTRY. 

organizations  that  have  for  their  object  the  improve- 
ment of  the  condition  of  the  toiling  masses. 

Resolved,  That  the  history  of  the  past  teaches  us 
that  longer  co-operation  with  the  two  old  political 
parties  of  the  country  will  only  retard  the  realization 
of  the  reasonable  demands  of  kindred  fraternal  organi- 
zations. 

Resolved,  That  we  extend  the  hand  of  co-opera- 
tion and  friendship  to  all  true  reform  organizations! 
and  to  further  such  relations  in  North  America,  we 
ask  this  Supreme  Association  to  elect  a  committee  of 
five  and  empower  them  to  confer  with  other  industrial 
organizations  with  a  view  of  devising  ways  and  means 
whereby  we  may  be  enabled  to  obtain  political  recog- 
nition, both  state  and  national,  as  our  interests  demand. 

In  conclusion,  we,  the  Patrons  of  Industry  of 
North  America,  commend  the  noble  purposes  of  all 
industrial  and  reform  fraternal  organizations  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  bettering  the  condition  of  the  toiling 
masses,  and  we  do  hope  that  an  early  understanding 
may  be  reached  whereby  we  may  not  be  laboring 
against  each  other,  thereby  postponing  the  time  when 
our  fondest  hopes  may  be  realized. 


HAWKINSVILLE.    ALA. 
MASTER    ALABAMA   STATE   GRANGE. 


THE  GRANGE  IN  THE  SOUTH.  47? 


COPTER  XX- 

ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  GRANGE  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

—  BY  — 

COL.  HIRAM  HAWKINS, 

Master  of  the  Alabama  State  Grange. 

Introduction — The  Great  Debt  the  South  Owes  the  Grange 
— Political  Condition  of  the  South  at  the  Close  of  the  War — Carpet 
Bag  Rule  Overthrown  by  the  Grange — Specimen  Laws — The  Edu- 
cative Influence  of  the  Grange — Government  of  the  Best  Classes 
Rendered  Possible  by  the  Grange — The  Victory — Grange  Legisla- 
tion— Improved  Financial  Condition  Due  to  the  Grange — Breaking 
Up  Monopolies — Conclusion. 


A  RECOUNT  of  all  the  bless- 
ings  which  the  Grange  has 
achieved  for  the  South  an  entire 


volume  would  not  suffice.  The  South 
more  than  any  other  section,  nay,  more 
than  all  other  sections  of  our  country,  owes 
a  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  Grange  which  it  has  never 
fully  realized  and  which  it  can  never  repay.  In  fact, 
the  great  want  of  organization  and  the  forlorn  condition 
of  the  agricultural  classes  in  the  South  gave  the  inspi- 
ration of  thought  and  the  necessity  of  organization  to 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  order  as  a  means  of  restor- 
ing confidence,  inspiring  hope  and  rebuilding  the  waste 


478  THE  GRANGE  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

place  made  desolate  by  the  horrors  of  relentless  and 
desolate  war. 

This  inspiration  of  thought  budded  and  bloomed 
and  grew  into  the  development  of  the  organization  of 
"  Patrons  of  Husbandry  " — the  Grange.  Those  build- 
ing built  wiser  than  they  knew.  The  Grange  came 
at  the  opportune  time,  and  swept  over  the  country 
like  an  angel  of  mercy  and  peace,  spreading  joy  and 
gladness,  inspiring  hope  and  establishing  confidence 
in  all  who  came  under  its  benign  influence. 

To  properly  understand  and  realize  the  great 
achievements  of  the  Grange  in  the  South  it  is  neces- 
sary to  know  something  of  the  condition  and  surround- 
ings of  the  people  of  the  South,  especially  the  agricul- 
tural class,  when  the  Grange  made  its  advent.  None 
but  those  who  have  personal  knowledge  can  fully 
realize  the  seeming  helplessness,  the  despondency  and 
the  gloom,  without  a  ray  of  hope  for  the  future,  of  the 
people  of  the  rural  districts. 

In  speaking  for  the  South  let  us  take  the  state  of 
Alabama,  of  which  the  writer  can  speak  from  personal 
knowledge,  as  a  type  of  the  Southern  State,  for  the 
history  of  one  is  the  history  of  all  in  these  dire  and 
calamitous  times. 

Condition  of  the  State  in  1873-4. 
The  state  government  was  in  the  hands  of  carpet 
baggers  and  negroes,  the  labor  of  the  country  demoral- 
ized, virtue  morality  and  intelligence  in  high  places 


THE    GRANGE    IN   THE    SOUTH.  479 

supplanted  by  vice,  corruption  and  ignorance.  The 
over-taxed  farmer  openly  threatened  by  those  in  power 
with  confiscation  of  his  lands  by  taxation.  His  flocks 
and  his  herds,  which  formerly  roamed  field  and  forest 
in  safety,  were  consumed  by  unknown  parties.  Thieves 
walked  the  public  highway  in  open  day  and  committed 
depredations  with  impunity  upon  the  growing  crops 
by  night.  These  midnight  thieves  could  find  ready 
sale  for  their  stolen  plunder  at  the  cross  road — "dead 
fall  "  stores,  so  called — and  as  if  to  invite  the  lawless- 
ness the  Legislature,  in  1872,  passed  what  was  known 
as  the  "personal  recognizance"  law.  By  this  law  the 
thief,  when  arrested  for  his  crime,  instead  of  being  re- 
quired to  give  bond  or  go  to  jail  to  await  the  action  of 
the  grand  jury,  could  simply  give  his  personal  recog- 
nizance and  be  at  liberty,  and  usually  by  little  exertion 
could  realize  enough  to  pay  his  fine,  or,  failing  in  this, 
could  flee  the  county  and  thus  avoid  punishment, 

Dark  and  gloomy,  indeed,  was  the  sad  condition 
and  strange  the  contrast  for  such  a  people,  the  soul 
of  honor,  justice  and  chivalry.  But  all  know  the  old 
saying  "  the  darkest  hour  is  just  before  the  down." 
No  more  striking  verification  of  this  trite  saying  can 
be  found  than  is  illustrated  by  this  narative. 

Early  in  1873  the  Grange  came  to  heal  and  bless 
our  Southland.  Its  broad  and  beautiful  banner  was 
unfurled  to  the  admiring  gaze  of  a  down-trodden 
people.  Upon  that  banner  was  inscribed,  in  letters  of 
gold,  the  words  "  We  cherish  the  belief  that  section- 


480  THE    GRANGE    IN   THE   SOUTH. 

alism  is,  and  of  right  should  be  dead  and  buried  with 
the  past.  Our  work  is  for  the  present  and  the  future. 
In  our  agricultural  brotherhood  and  its  purposes  we 
shall  recognize  no  North,  no  South,  no  East,  no 
West."  "  Organize  !  Organize  !  In  organization  is 
the  hope  of  the  farmer,  the  salvation  of  the  country." 
This  helpful  message  found  fruitful  soil.  The  great 
desire  to  better  their  condition  caused  the  farmers  to 
organize  rapidly.  Before  the  close  of  November,  '73, 
hundreds  of  granges  had  been  organized.  Nearly 
every  county  had  its  grange  encampment.  This  up- 
building of  the  Grange  seemed  to  be  spontaneous  and 
general  over  all  the  South. 

As  the  farmers  came  together  in  the  Grange, 
pledged  to  labor  for  the  good  ol  their  cause,  their 
country  and  mankind,  it  was  but  natural,  in  the  inter- 
change of  their  experience  and  pledges  of  fidelity,  that 
they  should  become  united  as  never  before  for  mutual 
aid  and  mutual  understanding,  as  to  how  the  best  in- 
terests of  their  families  their  homes  and  their  country 
could  be  attained. 

The  first  important  step  taken  for  self-preserva- 
tion which  came  under  the  observation  of  the  writer 
was  a  pledge  by  all  the  members  of  a  grange  that 
they  would  neither  give  employment,  home  or  shelter 
to  any  one  who  was  known  to  be  a  thief,  and  objec- 
tionable on  this  account  to  any  member  of  the  Grange, 
and  that  they  would  prosecute,  to  conviction  if  pos- 
sible, every  one  thereafter  known  to  be  guilty  of  theft. 


THE  GRANGE  IN  THE  SOUTH.  481 

The  better  element  of  the  colored  people  on  our 
farms  were  taken  into  our  confidence  and  they  readily 
and  willingly,  to  their  credit  be  it  said,  co-operated 
with  the  members  of  the  Grange  in  ferreting  out  noto- 
rious characters,  many  of  whom,  for  want  of  shelter 
were  forced  to  leave  the  state.  This  is  but  one  of  the 
many  great  material  and  moral  achievements  of  the 
Grange  in  the  South,  which  has  never,  so  far  as  the 
writer  knows,  been  given  to  the  public.  Great  indeed 
was  this  as  a  measure  of  relief  to  the  country. 

But,  however  great  were  these  evils,  they  were 
small  compared  with  the  great  political  incubus — un- 
scrupulous, ignorant  and  oppressive,  which  like  a  black 
pall  hung  over  a  patient  and  suffering  people.  The 
public  treasury  was  bankrupt ;  the  credit  of  the  state 
gone ;  the  public  debt  in  six  years  increased  from  nine 
million  dollars  to  thirty-two  millions ;  taxes  in  the  mean- 
time  doubled  ;  no  mining,  no  manufacturing  or  other 
industries  being  developed  ;  the  public  school  money 
misappropriated  and  all  the  public  schools  suspended  ; 
confidence  destroyed  ;  financial  stagnation  and  bank- 
ruptcy the  result. 

Yet  with  all  these  facts  staring  them  in  the  face, 
strange  to  s  ay,  white  demogogues  for  place,  power 
and  plunder  kept  the  negroes  organized  in  secret  po- 
litical leagues  by  appeals  to  race  prejudice.  The 
negroes  were  made  to  believe  that  if  the  Democratic 
party,  composed  largely  of  their  old  masters,  got  con- 
trol of  the  state  they  would  deprive  them  of  their  free 

29 


482  THE   GRANGE    IN   THE   SOUTH. 

school  and  re-enslave  them.  Any  negro  who  refused 
to  join  the  oath-bound  league  was  not  only  ostracised 
but  expelled  from  his  church,  simply  to  oppose  the 
league  was  to  put  his  life  in  danger.  Some,  for  this 
offense,  were  terribly  beaten  and  their  lives  threatened. 
Onimous,  indeed,  were  such  times,  and  portentous  of 
evil.     But  the  crisis  had  come  and  must  be  met. 

Men  of  intelligence,  honesty  and  virtue  must  con- 
trol the  country  or  it  must  be  abandoned  to  the  negro 
and  his  corrupt  allies.  Here  the  Grange  as  an  educa- 
tor played  a  most  important  part.  Although  the 
farmer  had  enjoyed  but  eighteen  months  schooling  in 
the  Grange,  their  voices  have  been  heard  echoing  and 
re-echoing  from  every  hill-top  and  in  every  valley  in 
the  land.  They  comprehended  fully  the  importance 
of  the  impending  crisis.  The  country  was  aroused 
and  united.  The  educational  influence  of  the  Grange 
made  it  easy  for  every  white  man  in  town,  city,  ham- 
let and  county  to  join  hand  in  hand. 

The  negroes  had  forced  the  race  issue  and  this 
made  it  possible  to  unite  every  white  man  except 
those  who  were  using  the  negro  for  personal  gain. 
The  only  question  at  the  polls  was  "  white  supremacy," 
or  "negro  rule."  The  members  of  the  Grange  ex- 
plained the  situation  to  the  more  conservative  and  in- 
telligent of  their  negro  employes  and  tenants,  pledged 
protection  and  immunity  to  every  one  who  would  vote 
with  them  against  any  trouble  from  any  of  their  own 
race.     They  pointed  out  that  the  carpet  baggers  and 


THE  GRANGE  IN  THE  SOUTH.  483 

leaders  of  their  color  had  made  political  slaves  of  them 
by  forcing  them  to  join  the  league  and  vote  as  they 
were  bid  against  their  best  friends,  who  had  furnished 
them  homes  and  employment.  They  told  the  negroes 
plainly  that  as  they  had  made  it  a  race  question  all 
the  white  men  who  had  any  character  or  regard  for 
their  country  had  banded  themselver  together  and  in- 
tended to  rule  the  country.  They  denounced  the 
carpet  baggers  and  defied  the  negroes  who  opposed 
them  or  dared  to  molest  any  negro  who  voted  with 
them.  They  warned  them  that  any  negro  who  mo- 
lested another  because  he  voted  or  took  sides  with 
their  white  friends  would  do  so  at  his  peril. 

The  contest  for  white  supremacy  was  sharp  and 
exciting,  but  none  the  less  certain  and  decisive.  It 
will  long-  be  remembered  in  Southern  homes  as  the 
dawn  of  the  New  South.  In  many  respects  it  was  not 
only  exciting  but  exceedingly  ominous  and  threatening, 
for  in  many  places  both  parties  went  to  the  polls 
armed  as  if  for  war.  It  was  remarkable  there  were 
so  few  riots,  so  little  blood  shed.  In  each  instance  all 
the  trouble  which  did  occur  was  caused  by  the  whites 
coming  to  the  rescue  of  negroes  to  prevent  intimida- 
tion or  punishment  from  their  own  color. 

What  the  negro  believed  to  be  his  strength 
proved  to  be  his  weakness.  His  every  effort  to  solid- 
ify his  strength  by  a  secret  oath-bound  league,  with 
the  power  of  his  church  behind  it,  had  the  happy  effect 
of   uniting,  with    few    exceptions,   every  white    man, 


484  THE  GRANGE  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

without  regard  to  party,  on  the  color  line,  against  the 
negro  "  rule  or  ruin  "  policy. 

White  supremacy  was  triumphant,  the  carpet  bagj 
gers  left  the  country  or  went  out  of  place  and  power. 
The  black  league  dissolved  and  has  never  been  reor- 
ganized. The  country  is  happy  and  prosperous,  and 
results  speak  for  themselves. 

In  this  connection  the  writer  deems  it  proper  to 
give  an  extract  from  an  address  of  welcome  to  the 
State  Grange  of  Alabama  by  one  of  Alabama's  most 
worthy,  talented  and  honored  citizens,  who  was  cog- 
nizant of  the  great  work  which  the  Grange  as  an  edu- 
cational factor  had  accomplished.  On  the  16,  17  and 
18  days  of  July,  1889,  the  State  Grange  held  its  17th 
annual  session  in  the  city  of  Clayton,  Alabama.  Hon. 
J.  J.  Winn,  Mayor  of  the  city,  delivered  the  address 
of  welcome,  addressing  the  State  Grange,  he  said  : 
V  In  behalf  of  the  municipal  authorities  I  greet  and 
welcome  you,  not  with  cold  formality,  but  genuinely, 
cordially,  heartily — yes  thrice  welcome  as  the  repre- 
sentatives of  a  noble  order,  which  in  the  darkest  days 
of  our  beloved  state  was  one  of  the  main  factors  in 
arousing  Alabama's  sons  from  a  mental  apathy  that  was 
appalling — dangerous  alike  to  material  prosperity  and 
civil  liberty.  You  caused  us  to  think,  you  stimulated 
us  to  action,  thereby  retrieving  our  fortunes  and  wrest- 
ing the  government  of  the  state  from  the  rule  and 
ruin  of  ignorance  and  aliens." 

The   Hon.  Mayor  spoke  truly,  the  Grange  was 


THE    GRANGE    IN   THE    SOUTH.  485 

one  of  the  main  factors  in  arousing  the  people  to  the 
true  appreciation  of  the  dangerous  and  appalling 
apathy  into  which  they  had  involuntarily  drifted.  The 
influence  of  the  Grange  in  its  great  educational  work 
had  not  been  confined  to  its  membership.  Besides  its 
local  and  county  meetings  and  grange  encampments, 
hundreds  of  public  meetings  were  held,  lectures  and 
addresses  made,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  measure 
the  influence  for  good  for  which  the  Grange  should 
have  credit. 

In  the  language  of  the  Honorable  Mayor  referred 
to  the  Grange  caused  the  people  to  think  and  stimu- 
lated them  to  action,  and  thus  redeemed  the  country 
from  civil  and  political  corruption  and  financial  ruin. 
Like  good  seed  sown  on  good  soil  it  has  produced 
wonderful  results. 

The  Grange  and  Legislation. 

Before  entering  upon  the  discussion  of  this  phase 
of  the  question  the  writer  takes  occasion  to  say,  with- 
out the  fear  of  successful  contradiction,  that  nearly 
every  law  upon  the  Statute  books  in  Alabama  and  in 
the  South  in  the  interest  of  agriculture  may  be  traced 
directly  to  the  Grange  or  to  its  influence  in  securing 
such  legislation.  The  same  remark  may  be  affirmed 
of  national  legislation  as  well.  The  reader  will  remem- 
ber that  the  Grange  began  its  work  in  the  South  early 
in  1873.  That  in  the  general  elections  in  August, 
1874,  the  great  black  incubus  was  lifted  from  the  necks 


486  THE    GRANGE    IN   THE  SOUTH. 

of  the  people.  Fraud,  corruption  and  ignorance  were 
dethroned  ;  honesty,  virtue  and  intelligence  resumed 
control.  The  State  Grange  met  in  Montgomery,  the 
State  Capital,  in  its  second  annual  session,  December, 
1874,  representing  six  hundred  and  fifty  subordinate 
granges,  but  all  endorsed  its  Declaration  of  Purposes 
then  as  all  do  now. 

They  demanded  the  repeal  of  some  laws,  one 
was  the  odious  Personal  Recognizance  law  ;  other  im- 
portant legislation  was  demanded  to  meet  the  changed 
condition  of  the  country,  its  agriculture  and  its  people. 
The  Alabama  Legislature  being  also  in  session,  the 
State  Grange  passed  resolutions  favoring  certain 
measures  and  appointed  a  committee  to  memorialize 
the  former  body  and  if  possible  to  secure  the  needed 
legislation. 

The  laws  thus  recommended  were  enacted.  Some 
of  them  are  here  mentioned  by  title,  to  wit :  "  To  make 
posting  notices  on  premises  sufficient  to  prevent  tres- 
pass on  lands,  whether  the  same  are  enclosed  or  not." 
"  To  prevent  the  wanton  and  malicious  burning  of 
woodland  at  any  season  of  the  year."  "To  make  it 
a  felony  to  steal  any  part  of  an  ungathered  crop  of 
corn  or  cotton."  "To  make  it  a  felony  to  steal  any 
description  of  live  stock,  without  regard  to  the  value 
of  the  same." 

The  Grange  also  memorialized  the  Legislature  at 
the  same  session  to  provide  by  law  for  a  geological 
survey  of  the  state,  which  request  was  granted  by  a 


THE  GRANGE  IN  THE  SOUTH.  487 

subsequent  Legislature.  These  laws  were  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  agricultural  interests 
of  the  country.  The  penalties  for  petty  larceny  were 
entirely  inadequate  to  prevent  the  continuous  depre- 
dations upon  young  stock  and  upon  the  fields  of  the 
growing  and  matured  crops  of  corn  and  cotton.. 

If  a  hog  or  yearling  happened  to  escape  from  the 
small  enclosure  near  the  farm-house  and  found  its  way 
into  the  plantation  it  seldom  ever  returned.  Many 
other  wholesome  laws  were  secured  to  the  farmers 
through  the  influence  of  the  Grange.  Through  its 
influence  also  the  crossroad  "deadfall"  disappeared, 
but  not  before  a  law  was  enacted  with  heavy  penalties, 
forbidding  the  purchase  of  any  farm  product  after  sun- 
set and  before  sun-rise,  and  by  hedging  out  the 
whisky  traffic  with  high  license  so  that  these  dogger- 
ies, whose  chief  stock  in  trade  was  whisky  and  tobacco, 
could  no  longer  carry  on  this  corrupting  and  demoral- 
izing business. 

Having  seen  some  of  the  marvelous  achievements 
of  the  Grange  in  the  application  of  its  great  educa- 
tional work  in  the  development  of  the  moral,  the  civil 
and  the  material  prosperity  of  the  country,  let  us  con- 
sider some  of  its  financial  struggles  and  achievements. 

No  refined  and  cultured  people  under  the  sun 
ever  had  more  to  endure  than  the  people  of  the  South 
during  the  dark  days  of  reconstruction.  Corporate 
power  and  wealth,  ever  ready  to  take  advantage  of 
the  necessities  of  the  people,  never  found  more  help- 


488  THE   GRANGE   IN   THE   SOUTH. 

less  victims  on  which  to  prey  than  the  tillers  of  the 
soil.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  all  the  profits  of  the 
farm  went  to  feed  the  insatiable  greed  of  the  money 
power,  either  to  the  soulless  corporation,  the  advan- 
cing merchant  or  the  money  lender.  Two  and  a  hall 
to  three  per  cent,  a  month  was  the  usual  rate  for  the 
money  lender,  though  five  per  cent,  at  times  was  de- 
manded and  obtained. 

The  regular  average  of  the  advancing  merchant 
on  time  was  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar  added  to  his  cash 
price,  payable  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  farm'.  The 
average  time  on  the  aggregate  amount  thus  obtained 
in  no  case  exceeding  five  months,  thus  making  the 
rate  of  interest  ten  per  cent,  per  month.  No  other 
industry  in  the  world  and  no  other  agricultural  section 
of  the  country  could  have  so  long  endured  and  sur- 
vived such  a  strain. 

Practically,  the  farmers  were  tenants  upon  their 
land,  paying  rentals  in  the  shape  of  interest.  Massive 
structures  and  palatial  residences  were  seen  going  up 
in  all  the  money  centers.  Travelers  as  well  as  the 
casual  observer  at  home  wondered  at  the  marvelous 
growth  and  prosperity  of  the  towns  as  compared  with 
that  of  the  country. 

The  Grange  to  the  Rescue. 

One  of  the  grand  missions  of  the  Grange  was  to 
relieve  the  farmer  of  financial  oppression.  The  Na- 
tional Grange  at  its  annual  session  held  in  St   Louis, 


THE  GRANGE  IN  THE  SOUTH.  489 

in  1873,  published  to  the  world  its  famous  Declaration 
of  Purposes,  which,  under  the  head  of  "  Business  Prin- 
ciples," declare  that  "the  Grange  wages  no  warfare 
against  any  legitimate  business  or  industry,  but  we 
are  opposed  to  such  management  of  any  corporation 
and  enterprise  as  tend  to  oppress  the  people  and  rob 
them  of  their  just  profits.  We  are  not  enemies  to 
capital,  but  we  are  opposed  to  the  tyranny  of  monopo- 
lies. We  long  to  see  the  antagonism  between  labor 
and  capital  removed  by  common  consent,  and  by  an 
enlightened  statesmanship  worthy  of  the  19th  century. 
We  desire  only  self-protection,  and  that  of  every  true 
interest  of  our  land  by  legitimate  trade  and  legitimate 
profits." 

The  Grange  plants  itself  squarely  upon  this  dec- 
laration of  principles  and  goes  before  the  people.  The 
grandest  achievement  of  the  19th  century  was  the 
memorable  contest  and  victory  of  the  Grange  over  the 
great  railroad  corporations  of  the  country.  The  tidal 
wave  which  swept  the  country  in  favor  of  the  Grange 
in  1874  enabled  it  to  do  what  neither  of  the  great 
political  parties  of  the  country  had  the  nerve  or  the 
courage  to  undertake — to  bit  and  curb  the  great  cor- 
porate  monster  which  was  sucking  the  life  blood  of  the 
people. 

These  great  corporations  did  not  surrender  the 
contest  until  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  settled 
the  question  in  favor  of  the  Grange,  establishing  the 
doctrine  for  all  time  that  the  creature  must  be  subject 


490  THE    GRANGE    IN    THE  SOUTH. 

to  the  power  which  created  it.  Previous  to  that  de- 
cision the  railroad  king  could  sit  in  his  palace  and 
dictate  transportation  rates.  Traffic  rates  fluctuated 
with  the  market.  If  the  price  of  produce  advanced  a 
click  of  the  wire  could  absorb  all  the  profits  in  the  en- 
hanced freight  charges.  After  the  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  the  curtain  rises  and  how  changed  the 
scene — the  railroads  are  quietly  under  control,  being 
regulated  like  other  industries — by  the  laws  of  the 
land.  They  are  not  ruined  as  predicted,  on  the  con- 
trary, they  grow,  multiply  and  prosper  under  the  fos- 
tering care  of  the  people's  protectors. 

This  great  grange  victory  has  not  only  saved 
millions  to  the  farmers  of  the  great  West  who  inaugu- 
rated and  stood  in  the  fore-front  of  the  battle,  but 
millions  to  the  farmers  of  the  South,  the  North,  the 
East.  Truly  the  Grange  has  accomplished  a  great 
work,  and  with  its  coming  a  new  era  dawns  upon  the 
South,  new  life,  new  energy,  brighter  hopes  and  fonder 
expectations  inspire  confidence.  The  plow-share  of 
thought  brightens  as  the  quickened  pace  of  the  farmer 
makes  ready  his  fertile  fields  which  promise  a  fair  re- 
ward for  his  toil. 

Meanwhile,  while  the  farmers  in  the  South  having 
been  awakened  to  a  sense  of  their  true  condition  and 
believing  that  the  organized  power  of  the  Grange  was 
equal  to  any  emergency  lost  no  time  in  turning  its 
batteries  upon  the  credit  system,  the  mortgage  system 
and  every  other  system   tending  to  prodigality  and 


THE  GRANGE  IN  THE  SOUTH.         491 

» 

bankruptcy.  Capital  intrenched  in  its  strongholds 
sallies  forth  only  when  an  opportunity  offers  to  prey 
upon. the  wants  and  necessities  of  the  people.  Relief 
was  not  to  be  expected  in  a  day,  but  it  was  only  a 
question  of  time  when  the  united  efforts  of  the  farmers 
would  bring  success. 

In  addition  to  the  heavy  per  cent,  with  which  the 
farmer  was  burdened  for  advance  to  make  his  crop, 
but  little  less  oppressive  demands  were  made  upon 
him  for  storing  and  handling  his  crop  when  ready 
for  market.  The  warehouse  commission  merchant 
demanded  war  prices  which  were  double  the  charges 
in  ante-bellum  days. 

If  time  would  permit  many  incidents  in  the  history 
of  the  Grange  in  the  South  could  be  related,  showing 
numerous  successful  enterprises  bringing  financial  re- 
lief. One  incident  which  presses  itself  upon  the  atten- 
tion of  the  writer  will  be  given  and  may  be  taken  as 
illustrative  of  many  others.  In  one  of  the  growing 
commercial  towns  in  Alabama,  the  farmers,  feeling 
that  they  had  for  a  number  of  years  been  imposed 
upon  by  these  war  prices  for  storing  cotton,  resolved 
that  they  would  no  longer  submit  to  the  demands  of 
an  arbitrary  money  power.  All  efforts  to  break  the 
combinations  of  the  warehouse-men  made  them  but 
the  more  defiant  and  determined  not  to  make  any 
concessions  to  the  Grange.  The  farmers  were  united 
and  equally  determined,  but.  unfortunately,  without 
any  money.     They  succeeded,  however,  in  having  a 


492  THE  GRANGE   IN   THE   SOUTH. 

* 

warehouse  built  and  leased  to  them,  without  a  dollar 
to  start  with.  Charges  were  reduced  to  half  the  rates 
of  the  other  houses  and  the  enterprise  proved  to  be  a 
grand  success.  Before  the  season  was  out  all  oppo- 
sition had  disappeared  and  the  Grange  fixed  the  rates 
for  the  future  at  fifty  cents  a  bale  for  the  year,  and 
this  charge  was  to  cover  all  commissions  as  well  as 
storage.  This  was  a  grand  and  signal  triumph  of  the 
Grange  over  organized  capital  in  the  hands  of  a  com- 
bination of  strong  business  men.  Making  an  esti- 
mated saving  of  $25,000  annually  in  the  one  item,  and 
saving,  in  the  aggregate,  in  round  numbers,  $400,000 
to  date. 

The  great  power  and  influence  of  the  Grange  in 
attacking  the  credit  system  by  encouraging  the  farmers 
to  grow  more  home  supplies,  and  sell  less  of  what 
they  do  grow  at  home,  and  as  far  as  possible  make 
their  farms  self-sustaining ;  to  buy  nothing  on  time  at 
credit  prices  ;  borrow  money  when  necessary  and  pay 
cash,  or,  failing  to  borrow  money,  contract  with  the 
advancing  merchant  for  goods  at  cash  prices  and  pay 
interest  instead  of  credit  rates.  This  latter  plan  is  the 
one  generally  adopted  unless  better  arrangements  can 
be  made. 

The  estimated  saving  to  the  farmers  in  this  way 
is  believed  to  be  not  less  than  $50,000  annually  for 
the  farmers  at  any  important  point.  What  must  have 
been  the  saving  to  the  farmers  of  the  state,  and  in  all 
the  states  ?     Does  it  not  go  far  to  justify  the  claims 


THE  GRANGE  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


493 


that  the  Grange  has  saved  to  the  farmers  millions  an- 
nually during  its  national  existence  ?  Wonderful  as 
has  been  the  financial  achievements  of  the  Grange,  its 
chief  aim  has  not  been  money  making.  Something 
higher,  nobler,  grander  has  been  its  great  mission  as 
seen  reflected  in  the  moral  power,  the  intellectual 
granduer  and  the  sublime  beauty  of  its  educational 
work  in  elevating  character  and  molding  public  senti- 
ment. 


4^4  THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS'   ALLIANCE. 


C*{#PTER  XXL 

THE  NATIONAL   FARMERS'  ALLIANCE 
AND  INDUSTRIAL  UNION. 

—  REVIEWED   BY  — 

COL.  L  L,  POLK,  President  of  the  National  Alliance, 

Distinction  between  the  two  Alliances — Plan  of  Organization 
— The  Constituents  of  the  Alliance — The  Movement  in  Texas — The 
Union  of  Louisiana — The  Wheel  in  Arkansas — The  Union  at  St. 
Louis — Who  is  Permitted  to  enter  — Objects — Sketch  of  its  Consti- 
tution— The  Sub-Treasury  Plan — Historical  Precedents — Present 
Condition  of  the  Movement. 

|l|l  IS  generally  known  that  there  are 
two  national  organizations  in  this 
country  known  in  general  terms 
as  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance, 
the  full  title,  however,  of  the  organi-. 
zation  we  are  about  to  describe  is  the 
National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union,  its 
headquarters  are  in  Washington,  D.  C,  and  it  is  the 
principal  organization  in  the  South  and  Southwest,  but 
it  is  rapidly  extending  its  organization  elsewhere,  since 
it  is  estimated  that  at  the  next  annual  meeting  more 
than  thirty  state  organizations  will  be  represented. 
Sometimes  this  body  is  spoken  of  as  the  Southern 
Alliance  in  distinction  to  the  Northern  Alliance.    The 


L.      L 


POLK, 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

PRESIDENT    NATIONAL    FARMERS'   ALLIANCE    AND 

INDUSTRIAL  UNION. 


THE    NATIONAL    FARMERS*    ALLIANCE.  497 

difference  between  the  two  great  alliances  largely  con- 
sists in  details  of  organization,  though  they  do  not 
agree  as  to  the  advisability  of  what  is  known  as  the 
sub-treasury  plan,  this  will  be  outlined  later  on. 

From  what  description  we  have  given  of  the  Na- 
tional Farmers'  Alliance  of  the  North  we  have  seen 
that  the  organization  was  exceedingly  simple.  The 
National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  Industrial  Union  have 
apparently  recognized  the  truth  that  it  is  organization 
which  conquers  the  world.  The  secret  work  of  the 
order  is,  of  course,  not  known  to  the  general  public, 
but  the  constitution  presents  a  wonderfully  effective 
scheme  of  organization.  At  first  glance  we  would 
think  it  quite  complex  and  yet  it  has  apparently  proven 
very  satisfactory.  We  will  shortly  present  an  outline 
of  this  plan.  The  Alliance  North  makes  no  distinction 
on  account  of  color.  The  Alliance  South,  while  leaving 
this  point  to  be  decided  by  each  State  Alliance  to 
suit  itself,  especially  excludes  colored  men  from  the 
Supreme  Council.  However,  it  should  be  said  that  the 
colored  farmers  of  the  South  have  a  flourishing  Alli- 
ance of  their  own,  and  that  there  is  the  utmost  cor- 
diality and  good  will  between  them,  while  they  agreed 
on  a  basis  of  union  by  which  they  can  work  together 
for  their  common  purposes. 

The  Alliance  is  a  composite  body  formed  by  the 
union  of  several  other  bodies,  the  principal  constituents 
are  the  Farmers'  Alliance,  the  Farmers'  Union  and 
the  Agricultural  wheel.     The  Farmers'  Alliance  was 


498  THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 

first  started  at  nearly  the  same  time  in  two  states, 
Texas  and  New  York,  but  we  must  at  present  confine 
our  attention  to  the  Texas  Alliance. 

The  first  Farmers'  Alliance  was  organized  in 
Lampasas  County,  Texas,  in  1876.  The  objects  were 
to  resist  the  unlawful  depredations  of  cattle  and  land 
thieves  and  bring  the  law-breakers  to  justice.  This 
organization  was  very  defective.  W.  T.  Baggett,  who 
was  a  member  of  this  organization,  moved  to  Pool- 
ville,  in  Parker  County,  and  organized  the  first  Alli- 
ance in  Parker  County  in  1879.  The  organization 
from  the  beginning  rapidly  spread  out,  and  the  first 
State  Alliance  was  organized  at  Central,  in  Parker 
County,  in  1879,  under  the  name  and  style  of  "  Farm- 
ers'Alliance."  The  name  was  changed  to  the  Farmers' 
State  Alliance  in  1881.  The  organization  continued 
to  grow  and  spread  throughout  North  and  Central 
Texas  until  at  the  meeting  held  in  Cleburne,  Johnson 
County,  Texas,  on  August  6,  1889,  eighty-four  coun- 
ties were  represented.  At  this  meeting  the  declara- 
tion of  purposes  of  the  order  were  perfected  and  adopted. 

Up  to  that  date  the  Alliance  movement  of  the 
South  was  confined  principally  to  the  State  of  Texas. 
The  State  Alliance  of  that  state  had  chartered  a  few 
sub-Alliances  in  Indian  Territory  and  a  small  number 
in  the  State  of  Alabama.  The  report  of  the  State 
Secretary  at  the  regular  annual  meeting  of  that  year 
showed  that  the  order  had  grown  from  about  six 
hundred  to  over  twenty-seven  hundred  sub-Alliances 


THE    NATIONAL    FARMERS'    ALLIANCE.  499 

during  the  year  that  ended  in  August,  1886.  As  a 
natural  and  unavoidable  consequence  of  such  rapid 
organization  the  principles,  objects  and  methods  of 
the  Alliance  were  imperfectly  understood  by  the  ma- 
jority of  the  membership. 

As  a  consequence  there  was  considerable  confu- 
sion and  even  dissatisfaction,  there  were  even  two 
rival  state  organizations  in  Texas.  To  settle  these 
differences  a  called  meeting  of  the  Alliance  was  held 
at  Waco  in  January,  1887,  this  marks  an  important 
epoch  in  the  history  of  the  movement.  Four  hundred 
delegates  assembled,  all  differences  were  healed  and 
an  extensive  scheme  of  work  embracing  the  Cotton 
Belt  states  was  mapped  out.  It  was  at  this  meeting 
that  steps  were  taken  to  unite  with  the  Farmers'  Union. 
This  organization  was  practically  the  same  as  the  Al- 
liance in  Texas,  but  its  home  was  in  Louisiana.  It 
had  a  membership  of  about  ten  thousand  in  that  state. 
The  two  bodies  who  thus  united  their  forces  choose 
for  their  name  "The  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
Co-operative  Union." 

In  the  meantime  still  another  organization  of 
farmers  was  flourishing  in  Arkansas,  this  brings  us  to 
the  "  Agricultural  Wheel."  According  to  Mr.  Ashby, 
the  Wheel  "  first  saw  the  light  of  day  "  in  February, 
1882,  at  McBee's  school  house,  about  ten  miles  west 
of  Des  Arc,  in  Prairie  County,  Arkansas.  It  was 
originated  with  nine  members,  headed  by  W.  W.  Ted- 
ford,  a  farmer  and  school  teacher,  and  was  intended 

30 


600  THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS'    ALLIANCE. 

merely  as  a  debating  society.  The  debates  having 
taken  an  economic  turn,  the  opposition  to  monopoly 
and  corruption  in  politics  soon  became  a  cardinal  prin- 
ciple with  the  infant  organization. 

In  March,  1882,  there  were  three  clubs  in  Prarie 
County,  with  about  two  hundred  members,  and  it  was 
decided  to  incorporate  under  the  state  laws.  A  meet- 
ing of  the  three  societies  was  called  and  a  platform 
and  declaration  of  principles  adopted.  Suggestions 
for  a  name  were  called  for,  and  as  the  members  were 
mainly  farmers  they  wished  to  adopt  a  name  sug- 
gestive of  the  agricultural  calling.  Several  names 
were  mentioned,  among  which  were  "  The  Plow/' 
"The  Wagon,"  "The  Reaper"  and  several  others, 
all  of  which  were  objected  to,  until  finally  "  The 
Wheel "  was  suggested  and  accepted  as  the  name  of 
the  order.  From  this  the  organization  was  chartered 
and  thenceforth  gained  rapidly  in  membership  and 
strength. 

The  National  Wheel  was  organized  in  1886.  This 
organization  would  doubtless  have  grown  to  great 
proportions ;  but  the  motto  that  "  in  union  there  is 
strength  "  applies  to  the  farmer's  movement  as  to 
everything  else.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Farmers'  Union 
of  Louisiana,  there  was  no  good  reason  why  the 
Wheel  should  not  join  its  forces  to  the  others.  Ac- 
cordingly, at  a  meeting  at  Meridian,  Mississippi,  held 
in  1888,  a  plan  of  union  was  agreed  upon.  The  name 
of  the  organization  formed  by  the  union  of  the  Alliance 


THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS'    ALLIANCE.  501 

and  the  Wheel  was  at  first  the  "  Farmers'  and  Labor- 
ers' Union  of  America."  But  at  its  first  meeting  in 
St.  Louis,  in  1889,  the  name  was  changed  to  that 
which  it  now  bears.  We  must  notice,  however,  that 
the  names  of  the  state  orders  are  not  uniform  ;  some 
are  State  Alliances,  some  State  Unions  or  Wheels,  as 
they  may  choose,  consequently  the  county  or  subordi- 
nate bodies  may  be  either  Alliances,  Wheels  or 
Unions,  or  anything  else  they  may  choose,  but  all  are 
conforming  to  the  constitution  of  the  national  and  use 
its  secret  work  and  work  under  a  charter  from  it. 

As  we  would  naturally  expect,  organizations  of 
this  kind  can  not  admit  every  one  who  chooses  to  ap- 
ply for  membership.  The  following  classes  are  ex- 
cluded from  membership  in  the  Alliance  :  Merchants, 
bankers,  brokers,  commission  merchants,  cotton,  grain 
or  produce  buyers,  lawyers,  city  doctors,  preachers 
and  school  teachers,  land  agents,  book  agents,  ped- 
dlers, canvassers,  livery-stable  keepers  and  saw  mill 
men  and  all  dealers,  speculators  and  gamblers,  and 
any  others  whose  greatest  interests  do  not  harmonize 
with  farming.  When  a  person  is  engaged  in  farming 
and  in  addition  thereto  follows  one  of  the  above 
named  occupations  that  are  not  admitted,  the  law  is 
that  he  can  not  be  admitted,  but  the  association  is  al- 
lowed to  make  some  exceptions  to  this  rule  under  con- 
ditions prescribed  in  the  laws  of  the  order. 

The  objects  sought  to  be  gained  by  the  Alliance 
is,  of  course,  the  same  as  that  of  the  other  cognate 


502  THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 

bodies.  They  may  be  summarized  as  follows :  To 
better  the  condition  of  the  farmers  of  America,  men- 
tally, morally  and  financially ;  to  suppress  personal, 
sectional  and  national  prejudices,  all  unhealthful  rivalry 
and  selfish  ambition  ;  to  return  to  the  principles  on 
which  this  government  was  founded  by  adhering  to  the 
doctrine  of  equal  rights  and  equal  chances  to  all  and 
special  privileges  to  none  ;  to  educate  and  commingle 
with  those  of  the  same  calling  to  the  end  that  country 
life  may  become  less  lonely  and  more  social ;  to  assist 
the  weak  with  the  strength  of  the  strong,  thereby 
rendering  the  whole  body  more  able  to  resist,  and  to 
bequeath  to  posterity  conditions  that  will  enable  them 
as  honest,  intelligent,  industrious  producers  to  cope 
successfully  with  the  exploiting  class  of  middlemen. 

The  methods  pursued  are  of  three  kinds,  social, 
business  and  political.  The  social  methods  are  such 
as  may  be  secured  by  meeting  together  and  becoming 
better  acquainted  with  neighbors  and  a  friendly  ex- 
change of  ideas  as  to  the  practical  detail  of  farm  work. 
The  business  methods  take  a  wider  range  and  depend 
upon  co-operation  in  county  and  state  business  efforts 
to  secure  the  highest  price  for  the  produce  raised  for 
sale,  and  the  lowest  price  on  the  commodities  that 
must  be  purchased.  The  political  methods  are  strictly 
non-partisan,  and  must  ever  remain  so,  because  every 
candidate,  before  taking  the  pledge,  is  assured  that  it 
will  in  no  way  conflict  with  his  political  or  religious 
views.  All  political  parties  are  represented  in  its  ranks 


THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS'    ALLIANCE.  503 

and  all  are  expected  to  work  in  their  respective  parties 
to  secure  a  just  recognition  of  the  rights  of  the  farmer. 
The  motto  of  the  order  is  :  "In  things  essential  unity, 
and  in  all  things  charity."  All  questions  in  political 
economy  will  be  thoroughly  discussed,  and  when  the 
order  can  agree  on  a  reform  as  necessary  they  will  de- 
mand it  of  the  government  and  of  every  political  party, 
and  if  the  demand  goes  unheeded  they  will  devise 
ways  to  enforce  it.  The  most  essential  reforms  must 
come  from  legislation,  but  that  does  not  necessarily 
compel  the  responsibility  of  choosing  candidates  and 
filling  the  offices.  Such  a  course  may  become  neces- 
sary, but  will  not  be  resorted  to  under  any  other  cir- 
cumstances. 

We  have  already  mentioned  the  excellent  organi- 
zation. It  is  proper  to  give  a  little  outline  of  it  as 
gathered  from  the  constitution  adopted  in  St.  Louis, 
in  1889.  The  constitution  vests  the  authority  of  the 
Alliance  in  three  departments,  the  legislative,  the  ex- 
ecutive and  the  judicial.  The  legislative  department 
is  supreme  in  authority,  and  its  sessions  are  known 
as  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  order.  It  is  composed 
of  the  officers  of  the  organization  and  delegates  from 
the  various  state  organizations.  Its  duty  is  to  make 
the  laws,  rules  and  regulations  governing  its  meetings, 
to  prescribe  the  powers,  duties  and  methods  of  the 
officers  of  the  organization  and  to  elect  the  same.  In 
general  it  exercises  supervision  over  all  matters  per- 
taining to  the  welfare  of  the  order. 


504  THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS*    ALLIANCE. 

The  president  is  the  chief  executive  officer.  He 
has  power  to  direct  and  instruct  all  executive  officers 
and  all  executive  work.  He  is  the  one  to  interpret  the 
meanings  of  the  laws  of  the  order  by  official  rulings, 
and  such  rulings  have  the  force  and  effect  of  laws. 
They  must,  however,  be  presented  to  the  judiciary  de- 
partment for  consideration,  and  if  they  refuse  to  con- 
cur then  they  must  be  held  in  abeyance  until  the 
Supreme  Council  meets  and  passes  upon  them.  He 
is  assisted  in  his  duties  by  an  advisory  board  known 
the  Executive  Board,  composed  of  three  members 
elected  by  the  Supreme  Council. 

The  judiciary  department  consists  of  three  judges 
elected  by  the  Supreme  Council.  We  have  just  stated 
they  have  a  qualified  veto  on  the  rulings  and  decisions 
of  the  president,  they  can  suspend  them  until  the 
Supreme  Council  passes  on  them.  In  addition  it  is 
their  duty  to  try  and  decide  grievances  and  appeals 
affecting  the  officers  or  members  of  the  Supreme 
Council  and  to  try  appeals  from  state  bodies. 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  machinery  the  Su- 
preme Council  in  1890  provided  for  the  formation  of  a 
"  National  Legislative  Council,"  this  is  composed  of 
the  presidents  of  all  the  state  alliances  and  the  national 
president.  This  council  is  to  formulate  measures  and 
devise  methods  to  secure  the  enactment  of  laws  de- 
sired by  the  Supreme  Council.  They  are  to  appoint 
three  of  their  members  to  devote  their  energies  to  se- 
curing proper  consideration  of  measures  wanted. 


THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS'    ALLIANCE.  505 

In  view  of  the  organization  as  we  have  now  set  it 
forth,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  Alliance  has  accom- 
plished much  during  its  short  existence.  Many  of  the 
states  have  for  their  business  organized  State 
Alliance  Exchanges,  with  a  large  stock  paid  in,  that 
enables  them  to  purchase  machinery  and  commodities 
at  wholesale  prices  and  assists  them  in  the  sale  of  their 
produce,  and  these  efforts,  besides  the  actual  saving 
they  are  to  those  who  trade  with  them,  save  the  farm- 
ers millions  of  dollars  every  year  by  the  effect  they 
have  in  reducing  the  general  profits  of  the  merchant 
and  middleman.  The  most  marked  results,  however, 
that  have  attended  this  great  movement  are  the  result 
of  the  political  education  which  has  attended  it. 
Scarcely  a  vestige  of  the  old  sectional  prejudice  of  a 
few  years  ago  is  now  visible  within  its  ranks,  and  the 
membership  have  gone  earnestly  to  work  to  solve  the 
great  questions  of  the  day.  The  demagogue  politician 
who  now  attempts  to  array  sectional  prejudice  in  order 
that  he  may  keep  farmers  equally  divided  on  impor- 
tant questions  and  that  he  and  his  partners  may  de- 
cide such  questions  to  their  own  liking,  will  be  met  by 
a  superior  intelligence  that  will  soon  convince  him 
that  his  occupation  is  gone.  Evidences  of  the  truth 
of  this  are  everywhere  apparent. 

We  have  spoken  in  several  places  of  the  Sub- 
Treasury  plan  as  being  the  favorite  measure  of  the 
Alliance,  and  in  this  respect  distinguishing  the  organi- 
zation under  discussion  from  the  National  Alliance  of 


506  THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS*  ALLIANCE. 

the  North.  Now  in  this  matter  there  are,  of  course, 
exceptions  on  both  sides,  it  is  not  true  that  all  the 
members  of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and  In- 
dustrial Union  favor  this  plan,  nor  is  it  true  that  all 
the  members  of  the  National  farmers'  Alliance  con- 
demn it.  But  this  remark  is  true  of  the  majority  in 
each  case.  It  is  therefore  necessary  to  give  a  short 
outline  of  this  plan. 

In  the  first  place  then,  what  is  the  Sub-Treasury 
plan  ?  Briefly,  it  is  a  proposition  that  the  United 
States  authorities  establish  in  every  county  of  each  of 
the  states  that  offers  for  sale  during  the  year  five 
hundred  thousand  dollars  worth  of  farm  products,  in- 
cluding wheat,  corn,  oats,  barley,  rye,  rice,  tobacco, 
cotton,  wool  and  sugar,  all  together,  a  sub-treasury 
office,  which  shall  have  in  connection  with  it  such 
warehouses  or  elevators  as  are  necessary  for  carefully 
storing  and  preserving  such  agricultural  products  as 
are  offered  it  for  storage.  They  would  make  it  the 
duty  of  such  sub-treasury  department  to  receive  such 
agricultural  products  as  are  offered  it  for  storage 
and  make  a  careful  examinization  of  them  and  class 
them  as  to  quality,  and  give  a  certificate  of  the  deposit, 
showing  the  amount  and  quality  and  stating  that 
United  States  legal  tender  paper  money  equal  to 
eighty  per  cent,  of  the  local  current  value  of  the  pro- 
ducts deposited  has  been  advanced  on  same  on  inter- 
est at  the  rate  of  one  per  cent,  per  annum,  on  the 
condition  that  the  owner  or  such  other  person  as  he 


THE   NATIONAL   FARMEKS'   ALLIANCE.  507 

may  authorize  will  redeem  the  agricultural  product 
within  twelve  months  from  date  of  the  certificate,  or 
the  trustees  will  sell  same  at  public  auction  to  the 
highest  bidder  for  the  purpose  of  satisfying  the  debt. 

Besides  the  one  per  cent,  interest  the  sub-treas- 
urer should  be  allowed  to  charge  a  trifle  for  handling 
and  storage,  and  a  reasonable  amount  for  insurance, 
but  the  premises  necessary  for  conducting  this  busi- 
ness should  be  secured  by  the  various  counties  donat- 
ing to  the  general  government  the  land,  and  the 
government  building  the  very  best  modern  buildings,  « 
fire-proof  and  substantial.  With  this  method  in  vogue 
the  farmer,  when  his  product  was  harvested,  would 
place  it  in  storage  where  it  would  be  perfectly  safe, 
and  he  would  secure  four-fifths  of  its  value  to  supply 
his  pressing  necessity  for  money  at  one  per  cent,  per 
annum.  He  would  negotiate  and  sell  his  warehouse 
or  elevator  receipt  whenever  the  current  price  suited 
him,  receiving  from  the  person  to  whom  he  sold  only 
the  difference  between  the  price  agreed  upon  and  the 
amount  already  paid  by  the  sub-treasurer.  When, 
however,  these  storage  certificates  reached  the  hand 
of  the  miller  or  factory  or  other  consumer,  he,  to  get 
the  product,  would  have  to  return  to  the  sub-treasurer 
the  sum  of  money  advanced,  together  with  the  interest 
on  same  and  the  storage  and  insurance  charges  on  the 
product. 

On  first  reading  this  plan  it  is  apt  to  impress  us 
as  being  a  very  great  innovation  indeed.     Its  friends 


508  THE   NATIONAL   FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 

however,  insist  that  there  are  several  precedents  for 
it  in  history.  They  refer  especially  to  the  warehouse 
system  of  France.  It  seems  that  in  1848,  in  the  troub- 
lous times  of  the  Second  Republic  the  government 
authorized  warehouses  to  be  opened  for  the  reception 
of  all  kinds  of  produce,"  manufactured  goods,  etc.,  and 
made  the  certificate  ol  such  deposit  negotiable  by  en- 
dorsement  by  the  bank  of  France.  This  decree  re- 
mained in  force  until  1858,  when  it  was  revised  as  to 
the  bank  of  France  and  in  some  other  minor  particu- 
lars, but  the  main  features  were  retained  and  are  in 
full  operation  at  the  present  day.  At  any  time  the 
same  powerful  influence  could  be  brought  to  the  aid 
of  the  nation  that  this  warehousing  system  rendered 
in  1848.  In  the  late  war  with  Germany  this  system 
was  of  great  value  to  the  people  of  France  in  paying 
off  their  enormous  war  indemnity. 

Reference  is  also  made  to  the  grain  warehouses 
in  Russia. '  In  our  own  history  mention  is  made  to  the 
tobacco  warehouses  in  North  Carolina  and  to  the  early 
financial  measures  in  several  of  our  colonies,  but  in 
most  cases  the  money  was  advanced  on  land.  How- 
ever, in  one  instance  in  the  early  history  of  North 
Carolina  something  quite  similar  to  the  present  plan 
was  adopted.  It  seems  that  to  relieve  the  stringency 
of  the  money  market  the  Legislature  established  Gov- 
ernment warehouses,  and  bonded  inspectors  were  ap- 
pointed to  inspect  certain  farm  products  and  naval 
stores  intended  for  shipment.     After  inspection  and 


THE   NATIONAL    FARMERS*    ALLIANCE.  509 

branding,  certificates  were  given  of  their  deposit  in  the 
warehouse,  and  for  certain  of  the  commodities  so 
stored  the  inspector  gave  "  his  notes  "  according  to  a 
fixed  valuation  of  the  articles,  which  notes  were  legal- 
tender  for  private  and  public  dues.  And  thus  the 
people  were,  to  some  extent,  supplied  with  a  local 
currency. 

The  alliance  movement  is  now  in  a  very  flourish- 
ing condition.  Their  numbers  are  rapidly  increasing, 
their  wishes  are  being  carefully  considered  by  all 
classes,  and  beyond  any  doubt  the  movement  is  des- 
tined to  exert  a  great  influence  on  our  Industrial  life. 
Quoting  from  a  recent  speech  by  President  Polk,  we 
can  sum  up  the  situation  as  follows  :  This  great  or- 
ganization, whose  jurisdiction  now  extends  to  thirty- 
five  states  of  this  Union  and  whose  membership  and 
co-workers  number  millions  of  American  freemen, 
united  by  a  common  interest,  confronted  by  common 
dangers,  impelled  by  a  common  purpose,  devoted  to  a 
common  country,  standing  for  a  common  destiny  and 
guided  by  the  dictates  of  an  exalted  patriotism,  will, 
in  the  exercise  of  conservative  political  action,  strive 
to  secure  "  equal  rights  for  all  and  special  privileges  to 
none,"  and  secure  indeed  a  "  government  of  the 
people,  for  the  people  and  by  the  people." 


510  THE   PEOPLE  S   PARTY. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  PEOPLE'S  PARTY. 

Introduction. — Modern  Social  Movements  rapid. — Develop- 
ment of  a  new  Political  Party. — Causes  leading  to  it. — The  Cin- 
cinnati Convention. — Senator  Peffer  on  its  Objects  and  Hopes. — 
Its  Conservative  Work. — The  Platform. — Conclusion. 

E  are  making  history  fast  in  these  days.  If 
we  are  not  greatly  mistaken  influences 
from  many  sources  are  now  uniting  that 
will  sweep  all  before  them.  The  great 
'body  of  the  people  are  slow  to  move  but  they  move 
with  irresistible  force  when  started.  Especially  is  this 
true  of  our  own  country  and  of  our  own  people.  The 
world  as  a  whole  moves  rapidly  towards  any  given 
goal,  much  more  rapidly  in  fact,  than  at  any  previous 
era  in  history.  Owing  to  our  perfect  freedom  of  the 
press,  the  very  great  diffusion  of  intelligence,  public 
opinion  in  this  country  rapidly  crystalizes  and  exerts  a 
wonderful  power. 

Now  it  would  be  passing  strange  if  the  organiza- 
tions we  have  outlined  in  the  last  few  chapters  had  not 
finally  awakened  to  a  perception  of  their  own  strength. 


THE    PEOPLE'S    PARTY.  511 

For  some  years  they  have  been  organizing  and  dis- 
cussing questions  of  interest.  As  time  has  passed  on 
they  have  gained  in  depth  and  broadness  of  views. 
The  labor  organizations  and  the  great  agricultural  or- 
ganizations have  come  to  a  clearer  understanding  of 
the  difficulties  confronting  them,  and  have  realized  that 
their  interests  are  the  same.  So  it  is  not  at  all  singular 
that  they  are  drawing  gradually  together  and  find  that 
they  have  much  common  ground  on  which  they  can 
all  stand.  In  short,  here  too,  concentration  and  union 
of  interests  is  to  be  the  watch- word  of  the  future. 

As  a  consequence  we  have  but  just  witnessed 
(May,  1 891)  the  formation  of  a  new  political  party. 
Before  considering  its  platform,  let  us  make  a  few  gen- 
eral observations.  We  have  shown  that  great  changes 
have  occurred  in  the  past  simply  because  the  evils  that 
accompanied  them  became  unbearable.  We  have 
perhaps  with  some  tediousness  dwelt  on  the  peculiar 
characteristics  of  the  present  or  capitalist  methods  of 
production.  We  have  pointed  out  the  alarming 
growth  of  capital  and  increasing  power  of  the  same. 
We  have  asserted  that  every  tendency  of  modern  in- 
dustrial life  is  to  increase  the  power  and  effectiveness 
of  capital.  We  have  written  candidly  about  this  mat- 
ter and  in  no  case  have  appealed  to  passion  and  pre- 
judice, but  have  in  all  cases  supported  our  statements 
by  official  figures  and  statements.  There  seems  to  be 
no  escape  from  these  conclusions   and  in  our  chapter 


512  the  people's  party. 

on  "Results"  we  have  seen  that  facts  and  theory 
here  unite. 

What  shall  the  people  do  in  such  a  state  of  affairs 
as  this  ?  To  do  nothing  is  simply  to  sink  to  a  lower 
social  depth  than  that  of  the  village  communities  of 
old  England  who  became  serfs  of  their  lords.  To 
move  too  rashly,  to  rise  wildly  in  their  might  is  to  set 
in  motion  more  appalling  forces  than  those  forming  the 
French  Revolution.  They  have  most  wisely  avoided 
both  extremes.  They  have  first  organized,  and  have 
set  about  educating  themselves.  They  have  discussed 
questions  of  political  economy,  they  have  considered 
lines  of  action,  and  have  carefully  weighed  the  steps  to 
be  taken.  But  the  formative  time  is  now  passed,  the 
people  must  finally  act.  No  reform  can  ever  be  car- 
ried out  by  simple  resolutions  and  debates. 

Accordingly  there  has  just  been  held  in  the  city  of 
Cincinnati  a  most  memorable  convention,  and  the 
results  of  its  labors  has  been  the  formation  of  the 
11  People's  Party."  In  many  respects  this  was  a  won- 
derful convention.  Fourteen  hundred  and  seventeen 
delegates  were  gathered  together,  representing  thirty- 
three  of  our  states  and  territories,  and  some  even  came 
from  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  The  call  was  for  all 
industrial  organizations  that  supported  the  principles  of 
the  St.  Louis  agreement  of  December  1889.  And  accord- 
ingly there  were  representatives  from  all  of  the  organ- 
izations whose   principles   we   have  now  considered. 


the  people's  party.  513 

The  objects  and  hopes  of  the  convention  we  re 
most  eloquently  stated  by  Senator  PefFer  of  Kansas  as 
follows  : 

"You  ask  why  we  are  here  ?  We  come  as  harbingers  of  a 
revolution  that  we  expect  will  bring  healthful  changes  in 
our  public  affairs;  that  will  dethrone  money  and  re-establish 
the  authority  of  the  people.  This  movement  is  not  one  for 
destruction ;  it  is  one  for  creation.  It  is  not  for  the  pur- 
pose of  tearing  down,  but  for  the  purpose  of  building  up; 
not  to  destroy  the  wealth  of  the  rich,  but  to  restore  to  labor 
its  just  reward.  It  may  grate  harshly  upon  some  ears  when 
the  statement  that  this  meeting,  which  is  now  being  held 
in  your  beautiful  city,  is  the  most  important  that  has  been 
held  in  the  United  States  since  Congress  met  in  July  about 
thirty  years  ago.  That  was  a  meeting  of  men  charged  with 
providing  an  army,  and  otherwise  preparing  for  a  great  war, 
a  war  that  was  to  be  long  and  cruel,  fought  with  musketry, 
with  saber,  shot  and  shell,  and  with  every  available  weapon 
of  destruction  and  every  conceivable  device  of  brutality  which 
the  genius  of  military  science  could  invent  or  suggest.  But 
this,  as  you  see,  is  a  peaceful  meeting.  We  come  with  the 
star-spangled  banner  as  our  flag,  and  singing  the  song 
'America,"  a  tune  that  has  been  handed  down,  and  a  song 
with  it,  from  our  ancestors.  We  come  not  to  provide  an 
army  to  kill,  slay  and  destroy,  but  to  pave  the  way  for  a 
host  oi  freemen  with  arms  such  as  the  highest  and  purest 
stage  of  friendly  peace  can  suggest,  an  army  that,  when 
brought  up  into  battle  line  will  strike  blows  with  their 
tongues,  draw  blood  with  their  pens,  and  win  victories  with 
their  ballots. 

"But  what  is  the  reason  of  our  coming?    What  influence 


514  the  people's  party. 

lies  behind  this  majestic  moving  of  the  masses?  Is  this  the 
work  of  men  demented?  If  so,  then  indeed  is  half  the  world 
gone  mad.  Two  hundred  and  seventy  years  have  we  been 
toiling  in  this  country.  We  have  conquered  the  wilderness, 
peopled  the  solitudes  and  civilized  a  continent.  We  have 
removed  forests,  opened  highways,  established  commerce  and 
builded  a  nation  that  leads  all  the  rest  in  agriculture  and 
in  manufactures,  with  half  the  railroad  mileage  of  the  world, 
and  with  an  internal  trade  which,  measured  either  in  dollars 
or  in  tons,  exceeds  the  foreign  commerce  of  any  half  dozen 
countries.  Yet,  with  all  that  we  have  done,  with  all  the 
glorious  records  of  these  American  workers,  we  find  that 
to-day  our  profits  are  diminished;  we  find  that  our  wants 
are  multiplying  and  our  profits  divided.  Our  ancient  pre- 
rogatives have  been  wrested  from  us.  Our  statesmen  are 
drifting  away  from  the  people,  and  we  find  that  the  masses 
are  gradually  going  in  one  direction,  downward,  while  the 
classes  are  going  in   another  direction,  upward." 

The  convention  representing  as  it  did  people  from 
all  sections  of  the  country  had  a  difficult  task  ahead  of 
it  in  framing  a  platform.  They  wisely  avoided  going 
to  extremes,  but  confined  their  attention  principally  to 
the  questions  of  finance,  land,  and  transportation.  The 
platform  adopted  is  as  follows  : 

NAME. 
i.  In  view  of  the  great  social,  industrial  and  economical 
revolution  now  dawning  upon  the  civilized  world  and  the 
new  and  living  issues  confronting  the  American  people,  we 
believe  that  the  time  has  now  arrived  for  a  crystallization 
of  political  reform  forces   of  our  country  and  the   formation 


the  people's  party.  515 

of  what  should  be  known  as  the  People's  Party  of  the  United 
States  of  America. 

INDORSES  PREVIOUS  PLATFORMS. 
We   most    heartily   indorse  the   demands    of  platforms  as 
adopted   at   St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in    1889;  Ocala,  Fla.,  in  1890,  and 
Omaha,  Neb.,  in    1891,    by  the    industrial    organizations    there 
represented,  summarized  as  follows: 

DEMANDS. 

A — The  right  to  make  and  issue  money  is  a  sovereign 
power  to  be  maintained  by  the  people  for  the  common  benefit, 
hence  we  demand  the  abolition  of  National  banks  as  banks  of 
issue,  and,  as  a  substitute  for  National  bank  notes,  we  demand 
that  legal-tender  Treasury  notes  be  issued  in  sufficient  volume 
to  conduct  the  business  of  the  country  on  a  cash  basis, 
without  damage  or  especial  advantage  to  any  class  or  calling, 
such  notes  to  be  legal  tender  in  payment  of  all  debts,  public 
and  private,  and  such  notes  when  demanded  by  the  people 
shall  be  loaned  to  them  at  not  more  than  two  per  cent,  per 
annum  upon  non-imperishable  products  as  indicated  in  the 
Sub-Treasury  plan,  and  also  upon  real  estate,  with  proper 
limitation    upon    the    quantity   of  land  and  amount  of  money. 

B — We  demand  the   free  and   unlimited   coinage  of  silver. 

C — We  demand  the  passage  of  laws  prohibiting  alien 
ownership  of  land,  and  that  Congress  take  prompt  action 
to  devise  some  plan  to  obtain  all  lands  now  owned  by  alien 
and  foreign  syndicates,  and  that  all  land  held  by  railroads 
and  other  corporations  in  excess  of  such  as  is  actually  used 
and  needed  by  them  be  reclaimed  by  the  Government  and 
held  for  actual  settlers  only. 

D — Believing    the    doctrine    of    equal    rights    to    all    and 

special  privileges  to  none,  we  demand  that  taxation — National, 

31 


516  THE    PEOPLE'S    PARTY. 

State,  or  municipal — shall  not  be  used  to  build  up  one  inter- 
est or  class  at  the   expense   of  another. 

E — We  demand  that  all  revenues — National,  State,  or 
county — shall  be  limited  to  the  necessary  expenses  of  the 
Government,  economically  and  honestly  administered. 

F — We  demand  a  just  and  equitable  system  of  graduated 
tax   on   income. 

G — We  demand  the  most  rigid,  honest  and  just  National 
control  and  supervision  of  the  means  of  public  communica- 
tion and  transportation,  and  if  this  control  and  supervision 
does  not  remove  the  abuses  now  existing,  we  demand  the 
Government  ownership  of  such  means  of  communication  and 
transportion. 

H— We  demand  the  election  of  President,  Vice-President 
and  United  States   Senators  by   a   direct  vote   of  the  people. 

SUGGESTION  AS  TO  NEXT  CONVENTION. 

3.  '  We  urge  united  action  of  all  progressive  organiza- 
tions in  attending  the  Conference  called  for  February  22,  1892, 
by  six  of  the   leading   reform   associations. 

4.  That  a  National  Central  Committee  be  appointed  by 
this  Conference  to  be  composed  of  a  Chairman,  to  be  elected 
by  this  body  and  of  three  members  from  each  State  repre- 
sented,  to   be   named   by   each   State    delegation. 

5.  That  this  Central  Committee  shall  represent  tfaw 
body,  attend  the  National  Conference  on  February  22,  1892, 
and,  if  possible,  unite  with  that  and  all  other  reform  organ- 
izations there  assembled.  If  no  satisfactory  arrangement  can 
be  effected  this  Committee  shall  call  a  National  convention 
not  later  than  June  1,  1892,  for  the  purpose  of  nominating 
candidates    for   President   and  Vice-President. 

6.  That  the  members  of  the  Central  Committee  for  eaci 


the  people's  party.  517 

State  where    there    is    no    political    organization    conduct   an 
active  system  of  political   agitation   in   their  respective   States. 

RESOLUTIONS. 

Resolved,  That  the  question  of  universal  suffrage  be  recom- 
mended to  the  favorable  consideration  of  the  various  States 
and  territories 

Resolved,  That  while  the  party  in  power  in  1869  pledged 
the  faith  of  a  nation  to  pay  a  debt  in  coin  that  had  been  con- 
tracted on  a  depreciated  currency  basis  and  payable  in  currency, 
thus  adding  nearly  $1,000,000,000  to  the  burden  of  the  people^ 
which  meant  gold  for  the  bond-holders  and  depreciated  currency 
for  the  soldier,  and  holding  that  the  men  who  imperiled  their 
lives  to  save  the  life  of  a  Nation  should  have  been  paid  in  money 
as  good  as  that  paid  to  the  bond-holder,  we  demand  the  issue  of 
legal  tender  Treasury  notes  in  sufficient  amount  to  make  the 
pay  of  the  soldiers  equal  to  par  with  coin  or  such  other  legis- 
lation as  shall  do  equal  and  exact  justice  to  the  Union  soldiers 
of  this  country. 

Resolved,  That  as  eight  hours  constitute  a  legal  day's  work 
for  Government  employes  in  mechanical  departments,  we  believe 
this  principle  should  be  further  extended  so  as  to  apply  to 
all  corporations  employing  labor  in  the  different  States  ot 
the  Union. 

Resolved,  That  this  conference  condemns  in  unmeasured 
terms  the  action  of  the  Directors  of  the  World's  Columbian 
Exposition  on  May  19  in  refusing  the  minimum  rate  of  wages 
asked  for  by  the  labor  organizations  of  Chicago. 

Resolved,  That  the  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States 
should  make  immediate  provision  to  submit  the  act  of  March  2, 
1889,  providing  for  the  opening  of  Oklahoma  to  homestead 
;ettlement  to  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  so  that  the 
expensive  and  dilatory  litigation  now  pending  there  be  ended. 


618  the  people's  party. 

It  should  be  observed  that  this  platform  is  to  some 
extent  a  compromise.  It  however  serves  a  temporary 
purpose  and  will  lead  to  a  further  discussion  of  impor- 
tant questions.  In  some  respects  it  may  and  probably 
will  be  changed  in  the  future.  It  endorses  the  Sub- 
Treasury  plan.  This  will  doubtless  be  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal points  of  discussion  in  the  future,  and  it  may  be 
deemed  advisable  to  change  the  platform  in  that 
respect. 

It  is  easy  of  course  to  criticise,  to  point  out 
defects,  to  ridicule  the  whole  movement.  On  the  one 
hand  there  are  many  who  ask  for  something  far  more 
radical  than  this.  But  the  leaders  of  the  movement 
decline  at  present  to  consider  the  radical  innovations 
contained  in  all  schemes  of  Socialism,  Nationalism,  or 
the  Single  Tax  theories.  They  are  in  earnest.  They 
include  in  their  ranks  people  from  all  sections  of  our 
country.  They  see  very  clearly  the  dangers  ahead, 
they  are  not  anarchists  but  desire  in  some  way  to  curb 
the  power  of  capital.  This  much  is  at  least  true :  the 
problems  they  are  trying  to  solve  will  have  to  be 
solved  some  way.  To  fail  to  do  this  is  to  dispair  of 
our  present  civilization. 


%.1Q 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

PROCEEDINGS 

OF  THE 

ational  Jr  Farmers'  Jr  Alliance? 


ELEVENTH  ANNUAL   MEETING. 


FIRST  DAY — MORNING  SESSION. 

.  The  eleventh  annual  meeting  of  the 
National  Farmers'  Alliance  convened  at 
Omaha,  Nebraska,  on  Thursday,  January 
27th,  1891.  Pesident  J.  H.  Powers  called 
the  meeting  to  order,  and  Secretary 
August  Post  was  at  the  desk.  Invoca- 
tion by  Eev.  S.  P.  Groat. 

It  was  decided  on  motion  that  the 
various  sessions  of  the  convention  be 
held  secret. 

On  motion  the  President  appointed  the 
following  committee  on  credentials:  N. 
B.  Ashby,  N.  L.  Bunnell,  Wm.  Kinerk, 
A.  E.  Brunson,  YvTm.  Toole,  G.  D.  Ful- 
lerton,  W.  N.  Sargent,  G.  W.  Haigh,  W. 
S.  Palmer,  D.  F.  Ravens.  Committee  on 
credentials  reported  that  the  states 
named  are  entitled  to  and  represented 
by  the  following  number  of  delegates: 
Iowa  17,  New  York  2,  Pennsylvania  3, 
Ohio  13,  Illinois  6,  Nebraska  42,  Wash- 
ington 4,  Wisconsin  4,  Minnesota  2,  Mis- 
souri 2,  Indiana  5. 

The  following  were  appointed  a  press 
committee:  Miss  Eva  McDonald,  W.  H. 
Stone,  D.  F.  Ravens. 

On  motion  Mr.  C.  H.  Clark,  represent- 
ing the  Farm,  Field  and  Stockman,  of 
Chicago,  was  extended  the  courtesy  of  a 
fraternal  delegate. 

The  following  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee on  constitution:  N.  B.  Ashby, 
W.  A.  Jones,  D.  F.  Ravens,  H.  B.  Goble, 
N.  L.  Bunnell. 

The  remainder  of  the  meeting  was  con- 
sumed in  social  meeting.  Adjourned  till 
1:30  p.  m. 

AFTEENOON  SESSION. 

President  Powers  in  the  chair.     The 


business  of  the  session  opened  with  the 
address  of  President  Powers. 

ADDEESS  OF  THE  PRESIDENT. 

Brothers  of  the  National  Alliance:  The  in- 
dustries of  a  country  may  be  considered  in  two  de- 
partments. Those  that  consist  principally  of  man- 
ual labor  or  that  occupation  which  may  be  suc- 
cessfully followed  with  but  little  systematic 
thought,  and  those  which  depend  for  success 
chiefly  on  systematic  and  continued  mental  train- 
ing. It  is  true  that  the  best  and  noblest  type  of 
manhood  and  womanhood  consists  in  a  judicious 
combination  of  these  qualities.  And  the  mental 
giant  who  towers  above  his  fellows  by  his  strength 
of  mind,  his  clearness  of  logic  or  flights  of  genius, 
if  he  does  not  turn  these  qualities  to  some  practi- 
cal use,  is  no  more  to  be  commended  than  the 
stupid-brained,  hard-muscled  athlete,  who,  though 
an  adept  in  the  sporting  arts  of  his  classes,  has  lit- 
tle more  sense  than  the  brutes  whose  strength  and 
agility  he  emulates.  The  actual  worth  of  indus- 
try and  labor  may  be  measured  by  the  actual  pro- 
duction of  the  necessaries  or  comforts  of  life  which 
it  brings  forth,  or  the  benefits  to  mankind  which 
arise  from  it.  A  man  may  think  as  acutely  and 
act  in  as  skillful  and  shrewd  a  manner  to  rob  a 
safe  or  a  railway  train,  or  to  gain  the  advantage  or 
his  fellow  men  in  a  trade  or  bargain  as  the  honest 
farmer  or  mechanic  in  their  laudable  avocationy. 
But  while  in  the  one  case  the  whole  effort  is  to  get 
possession  of  that  which  rightfully  belongs  to  an 
other,  by  violence  or  fraud,  the  other  tends  alto 
gether  to  increase  the  actual  wealth  in  the  world, 
The  one  earns,  while  the  other  profits  by  his  earn- 
ings. 

The  actual  producer,  I  think,  is  the  true  worker. 
And  industrial  organizations,  properly  speaking, 
are  those  whose  members  make  it  a  business,  by 
their  own  labor  and  thought,  to  change  the  powers 
and  substances  of  nature  into  that  which  may  be 
of  service  and  use  to  man. 

The  merchant,  on  the  contrary,  while  there  is 
labor  connected  with  bis  calling,  depends  mostly 
for  his  profit  and  success  on  what  is  called  skill  in 
trade,  which,  while  it  sometimes  refers  to  using 
good  judgment  in  regard  to  the  time  and  price  of 
his  purchases  and  sales,  oftener  refers  to  a  faculty 
or  skill  of  buying  at  a  lower  and  selling  at  a  higher 
price  than  justice  would  warrant  or  honestly  per- 
mit of. 

But  the  fact  that  many  of  our  people  are  en- 
gaged in  occupations  that  are  in  themselves  mixed 


520 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  FARMERS    ALLIANCE. 


with  evil,  does  not  render  those  engaged  in  them 
necessarily  worse  than  other  men,  nor  remove 
them  from  claims  to  our  consideration.  But  it 
does  and  should  render  them  ineligible  to  member- 
ship in  distinctively  labor  organizations.  The  man 
who  earns  enough  bread  for  himself  and  family  by 
the  sweat  of  his  brow,  and  in  addition  earns  the 
big  profits  of  the  successful  merchant,  the  usurious 
interest  for  the  prosperous  banker,  the  exorbitant 
rates  for  the  railroad  company  and  the  surplus  of 
taxes  to  be  squandered  by  the  corrupt  office-holder 
and  politician,  has  some  interests  that  are  not 
shared  by  any  of  these  recipients  of  his  earnings, 
and  which  can  only  be  sustained  by  such  combina- 
tion of  strength  as  can  only  be  obtained  by  system- 
atic organizations  of  those  whose  interests  are 
identical. 

It  would  naturally  follow  from  these  considera- 
tions that  each  separate  branch  of  industry  should 
have  its  separate  organization.  The  blacksmith 
has  peculiar  interests  in  relation  to  raw  material, 
tools,  etc.,  which  are  different  from  the  carpenter, 
and  both  of  these  from  the  shoemaker,  and  so  with 
all  the  different  trades  and  occupatious.  And  all 
others  differ  from  the  farmer  in  this,  that  while 
people  may  for  a  time  go  barefooted  or  without 
shelter,  the  products  of  the  farm  are  absolutely 
necessary  every  day,  and  all  the  time,  for  the  very 
existence  of  every  member  of  a  civilized  com- 
munity. 

But  while  trades  unions  and  Knights  of  Labor 
assemblies  are  necessary  in  the  cities,  and  the 
Farmers'  Alliance  and  other  kindred  organizations 
are  necessary  in  the  country,  there  are  interests 
which  are  common  to  all  these,  and  for  which  some 
general  organization  is  necessary. 

The  question  of  business  cc-operation  on  a  scale 
of  national  magnitude  is  a  very  important  one,  and 
to  be  made  productive  of  lasting  benefit  will  re- 
quire such  careful  consideration  and  such  close 
and  practical  study  as  I  have  been  unable  to  give 
to  the  subject.  I  would  only  suggest  that  until 
such  an  arrangement  of  the  industries  and  busi- 
ness of  the  country  is  made,  while  the  productions 
of  the  labor  of  every  individual  will  add  something 
to  general  comfort  and  prosperity,  there  will  be 
room  for  improvement  in  that  direction. 

But  it  is  in  relation  of  these  organizations  to 
government  that  the  greatest  necessity  for  co-oper- 
ation exists.  No  effective  arrangements  of  a  na- 
tional character  for  the  conduct  of  the  business  in- 
dustries of  the  country  can  be  made,  and  prove  of 
benefit,  without  being  in  effect  laws  of  the  organi- 
zations which  adopt  them.  And  so  to  prevent  gen- 
eral and  continual  conflict  with  the  laws  of  the 
government  itself,  must  be  controlled  by  these  so- 
cieties. 

How  this  can  be  accomplished,  I  think,  is  the 
most  important  question  which  should  be  consid- 
ered at  this  session  of  our  Alliance. 

Two  !*eneral  plans  at  once  present  themselves  to 
my  mind  for  attaining  this  object.  The  first,  that 
which  lias  the  sanction  of  the  political  history  of 
our  country  and  the  prejudice  arising  from  our  own 
political  education,  a  p.ew  political  party.  The 
other,  independent  political  action,  which  has 
been  partially,  but  surprisingly,  successful  in  a. 
number  of  the  states  during  the  past  years. 

To  the  first  proposition  I  am  decidedly  opposed, 
for  the  following  reasons,  viz:  First,  such  a  politi- 
cal partv  is  not  practical  for  industrial  organiza- 
tions. Such  societies  aim  at  reforms.  And,  al- 
though a  party  of  them  might,  and  would  at  the 
first,  be  formed  on  such  principles  as  at  that  time 
were  advocated  by  all,  no  such  platform  could  be 
adopted  unless  on  such  vagce  presentation  of  prin- 
ciples as  would  be  of  little  practical  benefit  as  an 
assurance  of  wholesome  political  action,  that 
would  not  in  many  parts  soon  become  obsolete 
and  of  no  effect. 

Witness,  the  two  parties  which  have  divided  the 
government  during  the  last  thirty  years.  Bach  of 
them  was  formed  oa  principles  which  were  defi- 
nite and  practical  at  the  time,  but  long  ago  they 
have  been  lost  Bight  of,  and  instead  of  the  conten- 


tion between  them  being  on  principle,  it  is  a  strife 
as  to  which  can  the  most  successful  apply  all  the 
deception  and  corruption  attending  modern  poli- 
tics to  gain  the  spoils  of  office  and  the  management 
of  the  public  treasury. 

It  is  not  possible  to  confine  a  political  party  to 
any  one  class  or  condition  in  society.  From  mo 
tives  of  principle  or  policy  men  of  all  classes  would 
vote  with  the  n.;w  industrial  party,  for  it  would  be 
large  and  powerful  enough  to  be  sought  after  as 
the  possible  winning  side.  You  could  not  reject 
the  vote  of  a  man  because  he  does  not  belong  to 
your  society.  The  result  would  be,  your  new  party 
would  embrace  bankers,  lawyers,  professional 
politicians,  men  who  are  not  interested  in  yen  or 
your  society,  except  in  so  far  as  your  political  tri 
umph  may  give  them  a  power  and  influence  over 
you,  and  then,  having  a  foothold  in  your  party, 
they  would  soon  gain  the  ascendancy,  the  same  as 
they  now  possers  in  the  old  parties,  and  you  would 
realize  you  only  had  the  old  party  machine  under 
a  new  name.  In  fact,  the  essential  underlying 
principle  of  a  political  party  is,  that  those  who  vote 
for  you  may  be  your  political  masters  and  compel 
you  to  vote  as  they  dictate,  or  punish  you  with  po- 
litical ostracism  and  the  party  lash. 

I  believe  in  pledges.  I  believe  men  ought  to  be 
willing  to  pledge  themselves  to  each  other  to  vote 
for  good  men  or  good  measures,  but  not  vote  for 
men  or  measures  because  a  majority  of  any  party 
or  class  of  men  may  demand  it. 

But  the  impoitant  question  is:  How  may  politi- 
cal independence  be  successful? 

I  answer:  Every  new  party  is  formed  by  inde- 
pendent political  action,  and  all  that  is  necessary 
for  its  success  is  that  its  principles  should  be  held 
by  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  country  or  local- 
ity, and  that  they  be  enabled  to  nominate  and  con- 
centrate their  votes  on  such  men  as  are  true  to 
those  principles. 

Nov/,  as  success  has  been  achieved  in  this  way 
in  several  instances,  and  that  without  the  aid  of 
any  definite  plan,  but  arising,  as  it  were,  on  the 
spur  of  the  moment,  it  does  seem  reasonable  that 
by  following  out  a  definite,  plain  system  for  such 
action  every  year,  that  success  would  be  the  rule 
and  not  the  exception. 

What  is  the  reason  that  in  every  great  question 
of  reform,  or  every  measure  for  the  public  good 
which  may  be  suggested  and  brought  forward,  it  is 
difficult  to  get  people  to  vote  together?  It  is  be- 
cause they  are  arrayed  against  each  other  in  exist- 
ing political  parties  and  those  parties  will  not  sanc- 
tion such  combination  to  sustain  the  principle  as 
would  be  effective,  but  insist  that  their  members 
must  be  arrayed  against  each  other  on  partisan 
lines. 

Surely  some  better  way  to  reduce  righteous  prin' 
ciples  into  legal  enactments  must  be  devised. 

Permit  me  to  suggest  a  plan  for  your  considera- 
tion. Let  this  Alliance  discuss  and  agree  upon 
snch  measures  as  it  shall  deem  expedient  to  form 
a  basis  for  political  action  for  this  year  and  nest. 
Place  this  by  correspondence  before  the  other 
great  industrial  organizations,  and  with  their  con- 
currence let  a  convention  be  called  at  some  cen- 
tral point  for  the  purpose  of  comparing  views  and 
finally  adopting  as  a  national  platform  a  concise 
set  of  principles  which  can  be  cordially  supported 
by  all.  Then  publish  them  to  ths  world  and  lei 
the  remainder  of  the  year  be  spent  in  disseminat- 
ing these  principles  and  preparing  for  the  great 
struggle  in  1892. 

The  subjects  on  which  these  principles  are 
founded  should  be  those  which  are  most  vital  to 
the  prosperity  of  the  people,  the  honest  laborers  of 
the  whole  country,  and  which  can  be  so  impressed 
upon  the  majority  of  the  people  that  they  can  be 
adopted  and  carried  out. 

I  think  they  may  be  all  included  in  the  following 
list:  Money  reform,  land  refsrm,  transportation 
reform,  ballot  reform,  and  the  suppression  of  any 
vice  that  is  tolerated  by  law  to  the  peril  ef  out  na- 
tional prosperity. 
Time  will  not  permit  me  to  give  any  more  than  * 


521 


FEOCEEDING3  OF  THE  HATIOKAL  FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 


ttance  at  each  of  these  subjects,  but  I  hope  that 
during  cur  session  fliey  may  be  discussed  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  lead  to  a  definite  line  of  action  on 
each  subject.  But  if  during  the  discussioa  it 
should  appear  that  practical  unanimity  cannot  be 
arrived  at  on  any  subject,  it  for  the  present  should 
cot  be  adopted  for  political  action.  And  in  pre- 
senting my  views  briefly  on  these  subjects,  it  is  not 
in  any  dogmatic  spirit,  but  rather  as  a  learner  anx- 
ious to  draw  out  ideas  from  you,  my  brothers,  to 
strengthen  or  modify  my  own. 

Money  is  a  creature  of  law.  The  intrinsic  value 
of  the  material  of  which  it  is  manufactured  does 
rot  add  to  its  value.  The  piece  cf  paper,  eight  by 
seven  inches,  which  is  issued  by  the  government 
and  named  Si, coo  will  purchase  just  as  much  and 
payjust  as  large  a  debt  as  the  one  hundred  $10 
gold  pieces,  while  the  metal  could  be  bartered  for 
the  labor  and  material  to  manufacture  ?i,ooo,coo  of 
the  paper  money,  So,  while  the  &i,ooo  bill  will  fill 
a  contract  for  81,000,  a  £1,000,000  worth  of  gold  or 
diamonds  would  not  pay  it  if  the  creditor  chose  to 
refuse.  Nor  does  the  "promise  to  pay"  add  one 
iota  of  value  to  the  bill.  Let  the  stamp  be  reversed 
and  just  "one  thousand  dollais"  be  printed  on  the 
paper  without  any  qualification  and  the  gold 
be  stamped  "promise  to  pay,"  and  their  relative 
value  as  a  circulating  medium  in  this  country 
would  not  be  changed.  But  if  the  gold  were 
stamped  "receivable  for  all  debts  except  taxes," 
the  paper  would  soon  be  considered  worth  the 
most. 

The  fact  is,  what  the  government  labels  as  money 
it  is  bound  to  receive  as  money,  and  what  will  pay 
the  government  will  pay  any  subject  of  the  govern- 
ment, unless  otherwise  prescribed  by  law. 

But  money,  when  manufactured  by  the  govern- 
ment, is  of  no  use  to  the  people  except  it  be  put 
into  circulation. 

There  are  two  wavs  in  which  this  might  be  ac- 
complished, either  of  which  would  be  far  better 
than  the  present  system.  The  one,  to  estimate 
how  much  per  capita  would  be  necsssary  to  furnish 
a  sufficient  supply  for  the  business  of  the  people, 
and  then  to  issue  that  amount  of  currency  and  ap- 
ply it  to  the  expenses  of  the  government  in  the 
meantime  remitting  government  taxes  and  duties 
in  a  corresponding  amount. 

The  other,  to  issue  such  an  amount  as  will  be 
just  enougn  for  the  best  interests  of  the  people  and 
loaning  to  them  on  good  security,  without  interest, 
such  monicy  as  they  need  in  their  industries,  limit- 
ed in  amount  to  any  one  individual. 

The  advocates  of  the  first  plan  seem  to  overlook 
the  fact  that  no  adequate  amount  Gould  thus  be  put 
in  circulation  without  making  a  complete  change 
in  our  revenue  system  necessary,  to  be  followed  in 
a  short  time  by  a  recurrence  to  the  same  old 
method;  or  adopting  yet  another  untried  method 
of  supporting  the  expenses  of  the  government. 

The  method  of  loaning  to  the  working  people 
without  interest  I  think  the  most  feasible  and  least 
objectionable.  If  money  was  thus  furnished  by 
the  government  on  a  term  of  few  years  to  individ- 
uals, but  perpetual  to  the  people  and  absolutely 
without  interest,  the  hoarding  of  money  would  be 
stepped,  except  in  the  case  of  a  few  misers,  and 
all  the  money  in  the  country  would  soon  be  in  cir- 
culation. 

If  a  man  is  unable  to  work,  he  ought  to  be  sup- 
ported by  law.  But  if  he  is  able  to  work,  the  prop- 
erty which  he  may  have,  and  which  renders  him 
not  only  independent  of  aid  by  law,  but  the  less  de- 
pendent on  his  own  industry  for  support,  should 
jnever  be  made  a  means  of  oppressing  his  fellow 
omen  This  may  be  avoided  by  the  government 
making  perpetual  alternating  loans  to  the  people. 
So  long  as  industries  and  trade  of  the  county  are 
conducted  on  the  principles  of  competition,  the 
power  that  controls  tiie  money  of  the  nation  con- 
trols the  nation.  And  when  the  Rovemmont  manu- 
factures and  furnishes  the  people  a  fixed  amount 
of  money  per  capita,  sustains  it  at  that  ratio  and 
Jceeps  it  all  ui  circulation,  then,  and  not  till  then, 


will  labor  and  the  products  of  labor  receive  cer- 
tain and  adequate  reward. 

On  the  question  of  transportation,  but  one  solu- 
tion of  the  difficulties  seems  to  be  left  to  us.  An- 
ticipating the  attempt  of  the  people  to  enforce 
their  demand  to  bring  the  railroads  under  the  con- 
trol of  law,  combinations  and  consolidations  have 
been  effected  to  aim  at,  and  bid  fair  to  practically 
apply,  a  policy  which  sball  enable  the  companies, 
or  company  (for  1  think  they  are  virtually  now  but 
one),  to  dictate  their  own  terms  of  operation  and 
rates  for  service,  or  to  subject  the  people  of  any 
locality  or  of  the  whole  country  to  the  alternative 
of  being  deprived  cf  railroad  service,  and  thus 
starve  them  into  subjection.  There  is  but  one  ef- 
fective remedy  for  this,  and  that  is  for  the  govern- 
ment, which  has  always  admitted  its  obligation  to 
furnish  ways  of  transportation  for  the  people  by 
giving  to  corporations  and  individuals  privileges 
by  charter  to  provide  and  operate  such  roads,  to 
take  them  into  its  own  hands  and  furnish  that  ser- 
vice for  its  people  which  the  corporations  have 
failed  to  render.  How  this  should  be  brought 
about  I  shall  expect  to  hear  discussed  by  others  be- 
fore the  close  of  this  session.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
it  is  not  consistent  with  true  patriotism  to  permit 
an  institution  so  necessary  to  the  people  to  be  run 
and  managed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  not  only  im- 
poverish them,  but  to  endanger  the  safety  of  the 
government  itself.  A  premeditated  connivance  of 
these  companies  with  foreign  invasion,  or  domestic 
insurrection,  might  easily  place  our  government  at 
the  mercy  of  its  enemies.  And  the  sama  disposi- 
tion which  lead ^  them  to  rob  the  people  would  lead 
them  to  rob  cr  destroy  the  government  if  they  con- 
ceived it  would  be  to  their  advantage.  < 

Land  reform  is  attended  with  as  many  difficulties 
as  any  question  with  which  we  have  to  deal.  How 
to  preserve  the  rights  of  property,  the  obligations 
of  the  government,  and  the  natural  rights  of  the 
tillers  cf  the  soil,  may  well  puzzle  the  wisest  phil- 
osophers. It  seems  to  me  the  only  clear  way  is  for 
the  government  to  recognize  the  God-given  right 
to  the  soil  of  those  who  till  it  (not  have  it  tilled), 
and  that  this  result  should  be  brought  about  in  the 
least  injurious  and  most  equitable  manner  pos- 
sible. 

Ballot  reform  may  be  resolved  into  two  ques- 
tions.    Who  shall  vote?   and,  how  shall  they  vote? 

In  regard  to  the  first,  I  think  it  is  time  to  consider 
whether  the  ignorant  and  vicious  population,  which 
exiits  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  in  all  our  cities, 
shall  be  allowed  not  only  to  vote,  but  to  control  the 
votes  of  others,  while  intelligent  women  all  over 
our  land  are  deprived  of  all  share  in  a  government 
which  effects  their  interests  to  fully  as  great  a  de- 
gree as  that  of  men.  And  why  the  foreigner,  igno- 
rant of  our  language,  and  perhaps  opposed  to  all  re- 
straints of  law  and  order,  should  be  permitted  to 
vote  after  a  residence  of  but  a  few  months  on  pay- 
ment of  a  paltry  statu  for  his  papers,  which  perhaps 
is  furnished  by  some  scheming  politician,  and  tak- 
ing the  oath,  the  obligation  of  which  he  does  not 
recognize;  while  our  own  sons,  who  at  sixteen  years 
of  age  are  better  qualified  to  exercise  good  choice 
and  sound  judgment  in  voting,  are  required  to 
wait  five  years  before  they  are  treated  as  full  citi- 
zens or  allowed  to  exercise  the  rights  of  freemen. 
The  principle  embodied  in  the  Australian  ballot 
system  no  doubt  would  be  a  great  improvement  on 
the  present  plan  if  properly  guarded.  But  in  many 
cases  where  it  has  been  adopted  the  best  features 
have  been  so  changed  that  it  cannot  be  much  im- 
provement. The  object  aimed  at  should  be  to  in- 
sure the  secrecy  of  the  ballot,  to  make  some  degree 
of  intelligence  in  the  voter  necessary,  to  render 
bribery  unsafe  and  to  remove  the  voter  as  far  as 
possible  from  partisan  prejudice  and  to  facilitate 
the  success  of  independent  nominations. 

And  now,  vay  brothers,  how  is  it  with  our  own 
organization?  Is  there  not  something  more  neces- 
sary to  secure  uniformity  of  constitution  and  plan 
so  as  to  give  greater  efficiency  and  permanency  to 
our  society. 

Should  there  not  be  more  systematic  and  deft- 


522 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  FARMERS   ALLIANCE. 


nite  information  provided  for,  so  that  we  may  know 
the  feelings,  plans  and  actions  of  all  parts  of  our 
brotherhood.  If  the  secret  work  has  the  advan- 
tages of  efficiency  and  permanency,  ought  it  not  be 
adopted?  And  if  that  is  concluded  on,  should 
there  not  be,  in  addition  to  the  peculiar  work  or 
system  for  each  state,  a  general  mystic  bond  by 
which  brethren  from  all  parts  of  our  country  should 
be  recognized  and  welcomed  by  each  other? 

Should  there  not  be  some  prescribed  active  work 
for  each  of  our  officers  to  perform?  Are  we  not  by 
our  lack  of  system  and  our  inde^nite,  loose  organi- 
zations as  a  national  society,  lay.  fig  ourselves  liable 
to  be  absorbed  by  other  more  compact  organiza- 
tions, which,  although  having  the  same  general  ob- 
jects in  view,  would  not  be  congenial  to  our  brother- 
hood? I  ask  your  earnest  consideration  of  these 
matters,  and  trust  that  you  will  leave  nothing  un- 
done which  seems  necessary  to  the  efficient  and 
successful  execution  of  the  great  work  we  are  at- 
tempting. 

Let  us  not  be  deceived.  It  is  no  time  for  boys' 
play  and  mock  demonstrations.  There  was  a  time 
when  corporations  and  oligarchies  looked  upon  us 
with  unruffled  contempt.  That  condition  is 
changed.  Three  million  voters  cannot  be  drawn 
up  in  line  in  an  army  without  attracting  general 
attention,  even  though  their  discipline  may  be  im- 
perfect and  their  lines  disconnected.  The  enemy 
is  already  marshalled  for  the  battle.  We  must 
conquer  or  suffer  ignominous  defeat. 

Be  not  deceived.  This  people  must  be  redeemed. 
If  we  prove  unworthy  of  the  trust  we  have  under- 
taken, God  will  raise  up  other  instruments  to  ac- 
complish His  will,  for  He  has  purposed  great 
things  for  this  nation  and  will  accomplish  them. 
But  we,  how  shall  we  answer  for  our  lost  oppor- 
tunities? What  will  our  children  think  of  us?  How 
shall  we  answer  on  that  day  when  nations  and  so- 
cieties are  yet  on  trial  aswel'  as  individuals? 

Let  us  acquit  ourselves  like  true  men;  let  us  en- 
courage each  other;  let  us  close  up  the  lines;  let 
us  lift  up  the  banner  of  freedom  on  high;  let  us 
pass  the  word  down  along  the  ranks,  "The  People, 
God  and  Our  Native  Land."  Let  us  shout  the 
battle  cry,  "United  We  Conquer,"  and  our  foes 
will  be  scattered.  Light  will  break  forth  as  the 
morning.  Liberty  will  triumph.  Our  country  will 
be  radeemed. 

On  motion  the  address  of  the  President 
was  given  to  the  Press  Committee  to  be 
given  to  the  press. 

Resolution  from  Crown  Alliance  No. 
1428,  of  Iowa,  requesting  the  National 
Alliance  to  adopt  an  official  pin  was  pre- 
sented and  referred  to  a  committee  con- 
sisting of  J.  M.  Devine,  G.  D.  Fullerton, 
A.  R.  Wright. 

The  following  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee on  resolutions:  G.  T.  Ashby,  S. 
P.  Groat,  F.  E.  Fitch,  Milton  George,  C. 
M.  Butt. 

The  National  Lecturer  made  a  verbal 
report,  after  whkJh  Secretary  Post  made 
the  following  report: 

REPORT  OF  THE  SECRETARY. 
To  the  President  and  Members  of  the  National 
Farmers'  Alliance:— The  year  that  has  elapsed  since 
our  last  annual  meeting  has  been  marked  by  a  very 
considerable  advance  of  AlHance  lines,  by  much 
substantial  progress  in  Alliance  work  and  by  a 
gratifying  growth  in  the  constituent  bodies  organ- 
ised under  tho  auspices  of  this  National  assem- 
bly. The  organization  is  commending  itself,  in  a 
greater  degree  than  eer  before,  to  thoughtful 
farmers  everywhere.,  «ind  aa  its  princlp'es,  pur- 
poses and  methods  become  better  understood,  it  is 
gaining  ground  in  the  respect,  the  esteeci  and  the 
sympathy  cf  that  by  far  larger  portion  of  the  gen- 
eral public  who  are  fair-minded,  and  who  desire  to 


do  right  and  act  justly.  If  it  be  still  viewed  with 
suspicion  by  some  of  this  class,  it  Is  ar.iaUer  which 
time  will  set  right,  as  they,  upon  fuller  informa- 
tion, become  convinced  that  in  laboring  for  the 
amelioration  of  our  own  social  and  economic  con- 
dition, una  the  more  accurate  definition  and  better 
enforcement  of  our  ngh&s,  wo  are  nevertheless 
guided  by  a  due  regard  lor  the  legitimate  rights  uf 
all  other  citizens.  0.  he  good  opinion  of  thosa  who 
do  not  fall  within  this  category  we  cannot  ex<>e  t 
and  do  not  care  to  conciliate  Those  who  profit  by 
the  abuses  under  wnich  we  suffer,  unci  those  whu, 
through  an  excessive  conservatism,  are  wedded  to 
these  abuses  because  they  have  always  been  ac- 
customed to  them,  win  now  and  tlways  be  num- 
bered among  our  opponents. 

GROWTH  AND  EXTENSION. 

As  auxiliary  to  this  National  body  thirteen 
state  Alliances  are  now  organized.  >ince  our  last 
meeting  four  new  state  Alliances  have  been  estab- 
lished; namely,  in  Indiana,  in  Juno  last;  In  Mis- 
souri, in  Auguct,  ana  in  Pennsylvania  and  New 
York  during  the  present  month.  The  new'.y  or- 
ganized Alliances  are  in  a  prosuerous  condition, 
and  are  moving  harmoriously  alont-'  Alliai  ce  lines, 
and  are  rapidly  organizing  the  territory  subject  to 
their  jurisdiction.  Three  other  states  are  prepar- 
ing to  organize  »-.nd  it  is  cxpectad  that  thev  will 
shortly  be  in  readiness.  A  considerable  number  of 
charters  for  subordinate  Alliances  have  been 
granted  during  the  year,  pursuant  to  Section  1, 
Article  IX  of  the  constitution,  in  states  wbere 
state  Alliances  do  not  yet  exist.  The  prospects  are 
that  in  thcs3  states  sufficient  grovvth  will  soon  ba 
made  to  warrant  state  organization  in  them. 

THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  PRINTED  MATTER. 

During  the  patt  year  the  demand  for  printed 
n  otter  setting  forth  the  prmcipes,  purposes  and 
methods  of  the  National  Alliance,  has  been  very 
great.  This  demand  ha3  b'>en  supplied,  in  part, 
and  to  the  extent  of  its  resources  available  for  te.e 
purpose,  by  the  National  Alliance,  in  trie  distribu- 
tion of  fifty  thousand  copies  of  the  constitution 
and  prceecings,  and  in  part  by  the  distribution  of 
many  thousand  copies  of  the  constitutions  and  pro- 
ceedings of  the  several  state  Alliances.  In  a  num- 
ber of  instances  several  successive  edit!  ns  of 
twenty  to  fifty  thousand  each  have  been  necessary 
to  meet  the  demand,  and  in  some  it  was  found  nec- 
essr.ry  to  translate  state  constitutions  into  German, 
Swedish  and  Danish,  and  print  one  or  more  edi- 
tions to  respond  to  the  great  and  growing  inquiry 
from  farmers  speaking  these  languages.  The  dis- 
tribution of  these  publications  has  been  conducted 
with  care.  They  have  not  been  lavishly  scattered, 
but  the  aim  has  been  to  refuse  no  reasonable  re- 
quest for  them  when  to  grant  it  seemed  likely  to 
prom  *te  the  interests  and  growth  of  the  Alliance. 
It  is  rseom mended  that  in  the  formation  of  plans 
for  the  work  of  the  ensuing  year,  the  Subject  of 
providing  sufficient  printed  matter  of  this  charac- 
ter to  enable  the  secretary  to  respond  to  calls  for 
it,  receive  the  consideration  to  which  its  impor- 
tance entitles  it. 

ALLIANCE    WORK. 

Our  constitution  expressly  proposes  as  its  aim, 
the  social,  financial  and  political  advancement  of 
the  farmer.  It  is  gratifying  to  note  that  in  nearly 
all  of  our  state  jurisdictions  the  Importance  of  the 
social  feature  of  our  institution  is  obtaining  larger 
recognition  than  was  formerly  the  case.  A  great 
obstacle  to  harmonious  action  by  farmers  as  a 
class,  lies  In  the  fact  that  their  isolation  on  the 
farm  puts  tbem  out  of  touch  with  each  other,  gives 
them  few  opportunities  for  informal,  man-to-man 
discussion  of  Questions  of  common  Interest,  and 
interferes  with  the  growth  of  that  mutual  confi- 
dence which  Is  essential  to  united  action.  The  im- 
portance therefore,  of  frequent  social  meetings,  In 
orcter  that  tills  obstacle  may  be  minified,  is  very 
great.  They  should  be  encouraged,  urged  and 
insisted  on. 

EDUCATION. 
These  meetings,  besides  promoting  acquaintan«e, 
confidence  and  reliance  upon  one  another,  have 
large  educational  value.  They  can  hardly  occur 
without  discussion  of  the  farmers'  situation  and 
the  problems  that  confront  him.  Imerckange  and 
comparison  of  views  and  ideas  lend  to  bavmonlova 
and  correct  thinking.    Fuller  study   of  the  quea- 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 


523 


tions  that  concern  Us  results  from  it.  We  correct 
our  views  and  take  on  new  Ideas,  so  that 
when  we  reach  the  point  of  formulating  de- 
demands,  we  really  h  ve  views  that  will  bear  in- 
vestigation, that  we  can  give  sound  reasons  for, 
and  that  will  secure  the  intelligent  assent  of  our 
fellow  citizens.  All  my  information  from  onr  va- 
rious Alliances  justifies  the  belief  that  more  atten- 
tion is  being  paid  to  social  meetings,  to  discus-ion, 
to  the  investigation  of  the  1  acts  relating  to  ques- 
tions that  concern  us,  and  to  educational  work  gen- 
erally, t'aan  at  any  previous  period  in  cur  history. 
A  knowledge  on  part  of  the  general  public  that  this 
is  true,  and  that  when  we  talk  we  know  what  we 
are  talking  about,  gives  added  influence  to  cur  de- 
mands and  leads  to  readier  and  more  general  ac- 
ceptance of  them. 

CO-OPERATIVE  PURCHASES. 

The  condition  of  the  co-operative  purchasing 
feature  of  the  Alliance  varies  greatly  in  different 
jurisdictions.  In  some  it  is  a  matter  of  consider- 
able importance  while  in  others  it  is  largely  neg- 
lected. Where  it  is  carried  on  at  all,  there  has 
generally  been  a  considerable  growth  in  the  volume 
of  the  business  transacted,  which  is  some  evidence 
that  it  meets  a  want  and  is  growing  in  favor. 
Where  it  is  pursued  it  is  found  to  po_sess  a  value 
much  beyond  the  savings  effected  on  the  purchases 
made  under  the  system  in  this,  that  it  tends  to  hold 
the  members  together,  and  also  that  it  affects  gen- 
eral prices  and  influences  local  merchants  and 
dealers  to  be  content  with  more  moderate  profits 
tiian  formerly.  I'd  thus  operates  to  the  benefit  of 
all  consumers,  whether  ia  or  out  of  the  Alliance. 

LEGISLATIVE   REFORM  WORK. 

During  the  past  year  the  influence  of  the  Nation- 
al Al! in  nee  and  01  oe?r  y  all  the  state  bodies  has 
been  exerted  in  behaif  of  a  number  of  measures 
pending  in  congress  for  the  r/ pression  of  evils  in- 
juriously ,s£Lcting  the  agricultural  interest*?. 
Prominent  among  these  are  tne  measures  xnown 
aa  the  "option  bill"  a;d  the  'lard  bi-1,"  the  former 
to  prevent  bo:>.rd  of  trace  gambling  In  farm  prod- 
ucts >y  the  devices  known  as  "options"  ana  "fu- 
tures," and  toe  1-itter  to  so  regulate  the  sale  of 
counterfeit  lard  aa  to  prevent  its  fraudulent  sale  as 
lard,  by  compelling  makers  and  venders  or  the 
compound  to  brand  them  in  such  a  m.nner  as  will 
give  notice  to  consumers  of  their  true  character. 
The  "opiion  bill"  is  now  on  the  House  calendar. 
and  if  it  can  secure  a  hearing  will  undoubtedly 
pass  ^hat  body.  The  "lard  bill"  has  passed  the 
House  and  is  now  pend  ng  in  the  Senate.  Both 
measures  are  obviousiy  just,  and  the  injury  in- 
flicted upon  the  producing  i  lasses  by  the  evils 
against  which  they  are  oirected  is  susceptible  of 
such  complete  demonstration  that  there  ought  to 
be  no  doubt  about  their  enactment  into  law.  Ac- 
cording to  the  be  t  information  I  can  obtain,  both 
have  now  strength  enough  in  congress  to  insure 
their  pi.ssage  if  they  can  be  brought  to  a  vote,  and 
our  immediate  efforts  shoul  *  be  concentrated  upon 
the  task  of  securing  consideration  for  them. 

'}  he  position  of  tL,e  National  Alliance  on  the  sub- 
ject of  inter-state  cot'  tierce  is  well  known  It 
opposes  any  relaxation  in  the  provisions  of  ;he  ex- 
isting law  an-.i  favors  amoiTin-ent  In  the  direction 
of  more  etticlent  railway  control.  The  Alliance 
should  be  on  guard  with  reference  to  a  steady  and 
persistent  effort  now  being  made  to  eecuie  an 
amendment  which  wUl  permit  pooling.  Tbosemov- 
Ing  In  this,  direction  heem  to  Le  on'y  awaiting  the 
fevorableopp  rtuulf  which  dormant  publ'c  opin- 
ion may  aiiord  lu  order  to  p-ess  such  a  modifica- 
tion of  the  law.  Pooling  is  the  form  which  rail- 
road "combines"  take,  and  1  bis  Alliance  should  see 
to  It  that  the  healthy  public  sentiment  existing 
wlih  respect  to  "trusts"  and  "c  mbu.es"  generally 
bo  not  allowed  to  slumber  with  reference  to  this 
one.  The  law  against  t  usts,  the  law  providing  for 
the  Inspection  Of  export  meats  in  order  that  for- 
eign nations  may  be  left  without  the  semblance  of 
an  excuse  for  discrimination  against  our  products, 
andthelaw  granting  further  aid  to  the  agricultural 
colleges  in  the  several  states  are  some  of  the  other 
Instances  in  which  the  Influence  of  the  Alliance 
has  been  exerted  to  procure  national  leg- 
islation in  behalf  of  the  interests  of  agri- 
culture. An  Important  subject  still  pending; 
to  which  our  attention  should  be  directed 
is  the  bill  now  before  congress  extending 
the    provisions    of    the     original    package     law 


to  o'eomargarlne  and  other  forms  of  bogus 
batter,  adulterated  milk,  unsafe  illuminating  oil 
dreased  beef,  etc.  We  should  exert  our  best  eilo.'  ts 
to  secure  the  passage  of  this  measure  both  for  our 
protection  ai  producers  f.nd  as  consumers. 

In  the  several  states  where  All  ances  exist  auxil- 
iary to  the  National  Alliance,  the  questions  pre- 
senting themselves  to  our  brethren  for  study  and 
solution  are  many  and  various,  which  of  them  be- 
ing the  dominant  ones  depending  upon  their  vary- 
ing conditions.  In  a  nrm'oerthe  subject  of  such 
revision  of  the  laws  relating  to  taxation  as  will 
secure  an  equalization  of  the  burdens  of  govern- 
ment is  prominent.  While  the  remedies  songht 
differ  under  trie  differing  circumstances  of  each 
state,  the  fundamental  evil  in  all  is  that  the  farm 
bears  morothan  its  share  of  the  burdens  of  taxa- 
tion, and  other  forms  cf  property  evade  their  just 
burdens  either  in  wh  le or  in  port.  Our  task  should 
he  to  support  our  brethre  ■>  in  their  efforts  to  secure 
justice  in  this  regard,  by  all  the  moral  and  material 
assistance  it  is  within  our  power  to  afford.  In  some 
of  our  jurisdictions  the  reduction  of  interest  and 
efficient  penal  laws  against  usury  are  a  part  of  the 
legislative  reform  work  receiving  special  attention. 
Here,  too.  we  should  hold  up  the  hands  of  our 
brethren  and  aid  them  to  the  uttermost. 

In  several  of  the  states  the  school  text  book  ques- 
tion has  become  of  paramount  Interest,  made  so  by 
the  exorbitant  prices  which  parents  have 
been  obliged  to  pay  for  the  book's  neces- 
sary to  give  their  childrfn  the  education 
which  parental  enre  and  affecch  n  and  the  demands 
of  good  citizenship  alike  deem  essentia!  as  a  pre- 
paration for  life's  duties  The  common  schools  are 
the  farmer's  college.  In  t'lem  eighty  per  cent,  of 
ail  the  children  in  the  country  receive  tneir  educa- 
tional preparation  for  life's  duties.  It  is  therefore 
our  duty  to  make  them  the  best  that  is  possi- 
ble and  to  sea  that  the  burdens  of  attend- 
ance, through  exorbitant  prices  of  text  books 
used,  be  not  made  so  great  that  the  children  ®f 
even  the  poorest  shall  be  obliged  to  remain  out  of 
school.  Who  shall  control  these  schools?  is  to-day 
a  question  that  we  mu3t  meet.  Onr  answer  Is,  the 
friends  who  have  fostered  them,  who  have  built 
them  up  and  thoroughly  believe  in  them.  1;., These 
are  the  people  who  shouid  say  who  shall  teach 
them,  what  shall  be  taught  in  them  and  what  books 
shall  be  used  in  the  instruction  given.  VCily  politi- 
cians and  over-zealous  sectarians  are  to-day  in  too 
many  localities  seeking  to  gain  control  of  the 
schools  by  mean3  of  h:,ws  which  shall  give  them 
control  of  the  teachers,  of  the  things  to  be  taught, 
and  of  the  instrumentalities  of  instruction.  We 
should  carefully  guard  ugaiuit  all  these  schemes 
that  take  this  control  from  us.  We  should  main- 
tain the. right  to  build  our  own  school  houses,  em- 
ploy our  own  teaeher3  arid  select  our  own  text 
book3.  With  respect  to  the  text  book  question,  a 
number  of  plans  have  been  tried  for  reducing  cost 
in  different  states.  After  a  careful  f  tudy  of  the 
situation,  I  believe  that  an  open  market,  with  free 
text  book*  by  a  vote  of  the  district,  or  contracts  be- 
tween the  districts  and  publishers,  the  district  sell- 
ing to  the  pupil  at  cost,  with  authority  for  adopting 
and  contracting  for  School  books  not  going  above 
the  county  as  a  unit — I  believe  this,  I  say,  to  be  the 
most  satisfactory  solution  of  the  question,  as  one 
which  within  my  own  experience  furnishes  books 
at  fifty  per  cent,  saving  to  the  consumer,  and  at  the 
same  time  retains  the  choice  of  text  books  in  the 
hands  of  school  officers  in  close  contact  with  school 
Interests,  and  in  closest  harmony  with  the  parents. 
In  buying  direct  and  in  bulk  the  Alliance  principle 
of  co-operation  if  most  advantageously  employed, 
and  the  cost  of  furnishing  of  the  latest  and  most 
approved  character  for  one  child  for  a  full  common 
school  course  of  eight  years  will  average  less  than 
one  dollar  per  year. 

Free  text  books  will  still  further  reduce  this  ex- 
pense. Massachusetts,  Maine  and  Vermont  are  ex- 
amples of  the  successful  operation  of  a  free  text 
book  law.  Iowa  buys  books  by  district  or  county 
and  sells  at  cost.  The  public  schools  are  guarded 
by  holding  all  their  interests  near  the  people,  who 
have  the  same  right  to  direct  the  kind  of  instruc- 
tion that  they  have  to  Buy  who  shall  instruct. 

No  subject  affects  the  material  welfare  of  the 
farmer  more  vitally  than  that  of  railway  control  and 
state  protection  against  railway  extortion,  for  when 
qgpoapd  iiy  a  .powerful  corporation  th.9  Indiyid*' 


5*4 


PROCEEDINGS  OP  THE  NATIONAL  FARMERS'  ALLIANCE, 


ual  is  practically  helpless.  Accordingly  we  find  the 
Bubjeei  one  of  great  interest  in  most  of  the  elates, 
with  progress  in  ea,ca  ranging  all  the  way  from  zero 
to  good  The  erea test  advance  has  orobaoly  been 
i.iaoe  in  Iowa  where  an  elacive  railway  commis- 
sion with  power  to  fix  rates  on  lines  wi.  bin  the 
st!»te  and  joint  rites  oa  connecting  lines  has  boen 
sec'.ryd.  The  commission  al-.o  his  power  to  decide 
controversies  arising  fcetween.  the  roada  end  Indi- 
vlc-.suna  or  communities,  and  its  decision  is  binding 
vn'la»s  appeal  Is  taken  to  t.io  courts,  an  1  when 'ap- 
pealed from,  tho  burden  of  showing  tbat  'tis  wrong 
rest  upon  the  road.  Power  is  given  to  prevent  all 
riiscrluntnations  of  whatsoever  kind  or  njturo,  all 
pooling  and  all  esceasive  eharues,  and,  the  eommis- 
i'on  bcin^  responsible  directly  to  the  people  who 
elect  it,  the  power  is  exercised.  A  ship:  er  injured 
hy  any  oi  the  comnaon  railway  abuses,  if  he  must 
go  into  the  court  for  tinal  redress,  goes  in  with  a 
in Htna  facie  a&se  in  bia  favor,  and  not.  p„b  formerly, 
with  all  the  presamptlo1  s  and  burdens  of  proof 
sgainst  l)!m.  This  gives  the  individual  something 
like  a  fair  chance  for  jurtice  when  opposed  by  cor- 
pocato  wea  th  and  power.  1  venture  to  commend 
the. Iowa  system  to  the  attention  and  study  of  our 
brethren  ia  other  states  who  are  wrestling  with  the 
all-important  questions  of  transportation  and  fair 
treatment  in  se';nrlnflr  it.  Many  things  remain  to 
be  don'i  in  the  wuy  Of  legislation  before  full  jus- 
tice is  obtained  for  the  farmer  Many  abuses  hdva 
yst  to  bo  corrected  and  many  wrongs  are  yet  to 
be  righted.  But  in  looking  over  the  who:e  field  I  am 
encouraged  to, believe  that  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  has  devised methods  applicable  to  them 
vnoreby,  with  careful  study,  patient  labor  and  firm 
adherence  to  dtmandu  that  are  felt  to  be  just,  the 
wrongs  may  be  righted,  the  abu.-es  corrected  and 
Jttstlce  secure  1. 

On  motion,  report  was  adopted  and 
ordered  published. 

The  report  of  the  treasurer  followed, 
and  on  motion  was  referred  to  an  audit- 
ing committee  consisting  of  Allen  Root, 
J.  B.  Furrow  and  J.  M.  Mason. 

The  convention  was  thou  addressed  by 
es-prcsident  J.  Burrows,  of  Lincoln, 
Nebraska. 

On  motion,  a  committee  from  each 
state  was  appointed,  and  termed  a  "Unit 
Committee,"  for  the  purpose  of  devising 
and  formulating  a  plan  for  carrying  out 
the  plan  outlined  by  Mr.  Burrows  in  his 
address.  The  following  are  the  commit- 
tee :  E.  S.  Parrott,  Win.  Kinerk,  A.  E. 
Brunson,  A.  T.  Carter,  W.  E.  Bell,  N.  B. 
Ashby,  G.  W.  Haigh,  Allen  Root,  D.  F. 
Havens, Charles  Morgan,  W.  R  Laughlin. 

Tho  following  were,  on  motion,  ap- 
pointed a  committee  on  secret  work : 
A.  J.  Westfall,  J.  M.  Thompson,  Joshua 
Crawford. 

A  communication  from  a  delegation 
representing  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association 
was  presented  as  follows : 

Omaha,  Neerasila,  January  07,  188L— J.  H. 
Powers,  President  National  Alliance. — Bear 
Sir  and  Brother: — The  undersigned  committee, 
appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Far> 
rners'  Mutual  Benefit  Atsociution,  at  its  recent 
session  ia  Springfield,  Illinois,  to  attend  your 
National  meeting  mid  to  confer  with  a  like  com- 
mittee of  of  the  National  Alliance  on  the  sub- 
ject of  &  closer  union  of  our  organization,  are 
in  the  city,  and  await  your  pleasure.  (Signed.) 
W.  T.  Stilwell,  T.  W.  Haynea,  P.  J.  Ctaypool, 
John  P.  S telle,  James  Jennings. 

On,  motion,    fraternal  greetings  were 


extended  to  the  brethren  representing 
the  F.  M.  B.  A.  delegation  aud  they  were 
invit-d  to  seats  in  the  convention. 

On  motion,  Ben  Terrell,  representing 
F.  A.  &  I.  U.,  was  also  invited  to  a  seat 
in  the  convention. 

On  motion,  the  visiting  brethern  were 
invited  to  address  tho  convention  at  to- 
morrow's session. 

Adjourned  until  7:30  P.  M. 

EVENING   SESSIOU. 

President  Powers  in  the  chair.  Tho 
evening  session  was  introduced  by  tho 
following  address,  delivered  by  Mr.  D.  ii. 
Talbot,  of  Sioux  City,  Iowa. 

address  os1  mb.  d.  h.  taleot. 

Mb,  President  and  Dulhoat?:s  op  the  Na- 
tional Farmers'  Alliance.  Ladies  and  Gentle- 
men:— Permit  me  to  address  you  as  brothers  and 
sisters  in  our  commercial  aud  social  organiza- 
tion, offering  a  few  business  suggestions. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  our  Iowa  State  Formers' 
Alliance  Executive  Committee  it  was  agreed 
that  each  member  of  our  Executive  Committee 
should  write  a  paper  upon  some  general  plan, 
topic  or  work  thought  best  for  the  interests  of. 
the  Alliance.  And  in  carrying  out  (his  plan  it 
has  fallen  to  my  lot  to  consider  that  part  which 
will  apply  more  forcibly  towards  the  educating 
of  the  people,  i.  e.,  the  presenting  cf  such 
thought  as  may  assist  in  causiu;;  moderate  dis- 
cussion, debate— in  bringing  tho  members  of  our 
Alliance  to  a  better  understanding  of  the 
grave  position  which  the  farmers  now  occupy. 
This  paper  1  take  plats  are  in  submitting  to  you 
for  your  consideration. 

For  me  to  outline  this  subject  fully  would  re- 
quire too  much  space  in  a  paper  ox  this  kind, 
therefore  it  must  be  cared  for  in  a  i .  tl  her  hurried 
manner,  trusting  that  in  the  main  it  may  prove 
of  some  benefit  in  eliciting  the  ideas  or  thoughts 
of  those  who,  though  knowing  the  wrongs  under 
which  they  live  have  not  the"  courage  to  openly 
express  themselves  and  in  a  proper,  business- 
like manner  demand  and  secure  correction  of 
their  wrongs. 

To  properly  understand  just  what  our  position 
is  we  must  first  consider  that  effect  always  fol- 
lows a  cause.  Our  present  condition  is  ample 
evidence  of  the  effect,  and  to  change  it  we  must 
study  well  the  cause,  which  taken  as  «  whole 
has  brought  us  to  be  known  as  an  Alliance. 
First  of  all,  it  is  a  well  known  rule  in  business, 
or  other  warfare  that  there  is  no  hope  for  success 
between  contending  forces,  regardless  of  the 
arms,  or  other  goods  used  in  competition,  unless 
the  intelligence  of  the  minus  eugmeeiiog  the 
contending  forces  are  carefully  weighed.  To 
profit  by  our  enemies'  methods,  we  find  that 
every  other  class  interest  in  the  world  has  made 
its  union,  and  either  by  fact  or  inference  have 
accepted  these  words  to  signify  their  line  of  de- 
fense: Unite,  agitate,  euueate,  federate,  and 
with  the  spiritual  halo,  exemplified  in  the  words 
Business  Secrecy,  we  have  for  our  example  the 
most  wonderful,  and  better  still,  successful  hol- 
low square  for  defense,  the  world  has  ever 
known. 

And  further,  these  emblems  of  power  even 
between  contending  forces  bring  much  more 
equitable  fruits  to  the  many  who  are  thus  or- 
ganized, than  is  possible  with  us  at  present,  and 
simply  because  of  the  power  of  compromise.  As 
ws  now  stand  our  strength,  is  limited,  but  let  us 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  our  enemy  and  be- 
cause of  our  numbers  and  natural  resources  of 
mind  and  body,  we  will  have  siKih  strength  thai 
in  the  form  of  compromise  at  least,  we  can  de- 
mand and  secure  just  what  we  may  ask  for. 

To  begin,  wo  must  unite.    'Tea/'  everybody 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  FARMERS    ALLIANCE. 


525 


will  say,  but  the  question  is:  "Do  you  mean  it?" 
Regardless  of  the  sentimental  side  of  the  ques- 
tion wo  must  bo  positive  about  it,  and  stick  to  it. 
No  sham  or  betrayal  of  a  trust  or  fear  of  meeting 
a  manor  woman  from  the  city  because  of  their 
thinking  they  are  better  or  know  more  or  ought 
to  be  looked  up  to  and  that  you  should  not  re- 
main as  a  farmer.  an  honored  member  of  the 
Alliance.  No.  first  of  ail  swear  by  the  principles 
of  the  Alliance  and  remaining  true  to  its  teach- 
ings there  can  tie  no  question  that  the  herald 
word,  unite,  will  anp'v  to  our  order  as  Well  as  to 
that  of  those  who  have  so  success!  idly  opposed  us. 

It  is  our  necessity,  consequently  the  duty  we 
ows  to  our  homes,  that  we  foster  such  interests, 
that  each  Eamdy  shall  be  Use  a  republic  unto 
itself— a  unit,  and  these  farmers'  units  in  inter- 
est make  the  whole  an  Alliance  unit.  This 
much  conceded,  our  next  is  to  agitate.  A  word 
which  calls  to  mind  troubled  waters,  exciting 
times,  even  perhaps  approaching  rebellion  from 
some  hereditary  idol  of  thought  or  practice. 

It  Is  alter  wars  of  blood  or  business  that 
schools  prosper  and  men  and  women  gain 
knowledge,  for  through  agitation  the  lethargy 
into  which  they  had  gone  prior  to  the  contest, 
brings  all  the  thought  and  determination  to 
build  anew  and  so  advance  in  their  education  as 
to  be  of  snfficient  strength  physically  and  men- 
tally  to  cope  with  any  assailant.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  times  are  usually  brisk  or  prosperous 
after  a  war  within  or  between  countries.  To  ed- 
ucate we  must  iirst  agitate,  debate.  And  to 
agitate  we  must  each  one,  as  a  unitof  the  whole, 
StudV,  looa  up  the  methods  by  which  we  are 
oppressed  and  when  found  let  them  be  referred 
to  our  local  Alliances  in  proper  form  and  there 
acted  upon,  and  by  the  voice  of  the  v,  hole  de- 
termine by  what  method  we  must  act  to  sf  cure 
our  ends,  that  whieh  may  be  of  benefit  to  us. 
Simple  agitation  prepares  the  way  fur  education. 

To  carry  out  this  branch  of  the  work,  it  seems 
to  me  imperative  that  we  should  have  a  board  of 
counselors  or  educators  to  whom  the  reports  of 
the  debates  and  suggestions  for  improvement  in 
method  or  recital  of  experiences  should  be  re- 
ferred, and  when  re-arranged,  if  need  be.  by 
this  board,  then  to  be  submitted  to  all  the  Alli- 
ances for  their  consideration.  When  this  board, 
made  by  appointment  or  election,  and  composed 
of  some  of  our  best  men  and  women,  shall  be 
called  upon  to  furnish  data  or  evidence  upon 
any  giveu  subject,  it  should  be  the  duty  of  this 
board  to  furnish  the  Alliance  requesting  it  if  at 
all  possible. 

Various  methods  will  come  in  due  time  through 
our  earnest  efforts  to  asr-ist  in  our  labors.  We 
should  have  the  Alliance  newspapers,  under 
the  supervision  it  is  true  of  the  Alliance,  but 
above  all  edited  by  members  of  the  Alliance. 

The  slightest,  contamination  with  city  influ- 
ence msv  cause  us  iu  our  zeal  to  adopt  some 
plan  or  arrangement  of  commercial  or  political 
intrigue  which  may  bring  about  the  death  blow 
of  our  Alliance  by  disorganization.  It  is  our 
Surroundings,  our  cvery-dry  walk  in  life  regard- 
less or  our  special  education  which  gives  zest 
and  power  to  0111  writings  or  conversation,  and 
no  matter  how  we  may  try  to  shield,  it  makes 
every  touch  of  the  pen  or  word  of  mouth  elec- 
trified with  the  spirit  of  cur  association.  Let  us 
then  be  careful,  exceedingly  careful.  Do  not  let 
us  firongii  the  arts  of  our  opponents  be  made  to 
continue  in  ceifdom,  though  we  may  labor  in 
the  desire  to  educate  ou^elves.  Let  us  labor, 
but  if  possible  let  it  be  in  the  proper  channel, 
and  that  it-gecping  solely  with  our  interests, 
for  there  is  no  fear  but  that  others  have  succeed- 
ed in  better  caring  for  themselves  than  we 

It  Is  a  common  expression  that  the  farmers 
will  not  hold  together,  and  several  bankers  and 
attorneys  have  twitted  me  that  the  organization 
would  not  last  long— but  a  year  or  two— and 
theu  fall  into  the  hands  of  some  partisan  or  city 
^^■olled  movement. 


This  is  the  plan  that  has  been  in  practice  foi 
all  rime,  the  combinations  of  capital  and  the 
floating  labor  of  the  cities  have  controlled,  and 
do  uow  intend  to  control  the  farmers'  organiza- 
tion. In  this  connection  we  find  then  that  the 
floating  labor,  usual'y  the  single  la:  oring  men 
of  the  citie.3,  are  simply  the  tools  of  the  monopo- 
list, and  alike  rob  the  poor  laborer  of  the  city 
who  is  trying  to  secure  a  home,  as  well  as  hia 
farmer  brother.  They  generally  make  the  ma- 
jorities and  it  is  through  this  element  that  the 
rings  and  boodlers  of  the  cities  control  the 
elections.  With  us  we  do  not  want  any  of  these 
men,  even  as  helpers  on  our  farms. 

To  correct  and  assist  in  making  a  more  per- 
fect union  of  our  order  each  local  Alliance 
should  be  constituted  a  labor  board  and  that 
when  one  of  their  members  desires  to  go  from 
that  locality  to  another  to  look  for  work,  that  the 
Alliance  should  assist  him  through  the  Secretary 
corresponding  with  other  Alliances  of  the  state 
or  elsewhere,  and  with  a  carefully  prepared 
statement  of  what  the  man  or  woman  can  do 
and  be  depended  upon,  we  will  have  in  a  greet 
measure  settled  the  labor  question  and  have  laid 
the  foundation  for  more  trustworthy  farmers 
and  excellent  house  wiv?s,  whose  interests  bo: 
iug  as  great  as  those  of  the  men  should  be  placea 
strictly  upon  the  like  footing  as  the  men. 

And  I  further  believe  that  the  A  lliance  should 
be  the  first  to  earnestly  demand  that  women 
have  the  same  rights  at  the  j»olls  as  men  because 
the  mothers,  wives  and  daughters  01  farmers  are 
entitled  to  it. 

Remember  the  fact  as  brothers  and  sisters  in 
this  the  realm  of  the  Supreme,  who  dare  say; 
without  insult,  that  the  one  has  not  the  same 
rights  as  the  other? 

A  matter  of  serious  importance  in  this  connec- 
tion is  the  growing  influence  of  women  in  the 
cities.  School  statistics  show  us  that  in  the 
schools  of  the  cities  and  large  towns  that  the 
boys  are  if  ken  away  before  graduating  for  the 
purpose  of  entering  some  mercantile  pursuit, 
while  on  the  other  hand  the  girls  are  permitted 
to  c -niplete  thei>-  education,  to  graduate,  and 
thus  being  of  a  higher  grade  of  education,  exer- 
cise great  influence  upon  the  men  whom  they 
may  marry,  and  these  as  a  rule  being  of  the  class 
who  with  the  assistance  of  these  same  educated 
women  make  the  class  which  now  is  the  grow- 
ing element  of  oppression,  which  must  be  met 
by  equal  strength  from  the  country.  To-day  the 
women  of  the  cities  have  time  for  educating 
themselves,  while  their  sisters  in  the  country  are 
reallv  slaves. 

As  Alliance  people  we  must  look  ahead.  This 
avalanche  is  surely  coming  upon  us,had  we  better 
not  co-onerate  villi  Hie  working  women  of  the 
cities  and  checkmate  the  intrusion  to  thenatural 
rights  of  all,  for  this  is  the  key  to  the  growing 
plutocracy  \vhi>:h  now  threatens  to  engulf  the 
laborer  of  the  world. 

Following  this  reference  to  our  unrepresented 
toilers  I  must  uow  address  myself  to  the  older 
heads,  to  those  who  like  myself  are  growing 
numerous  gray  hairs. 

With  due  respect  to  age,  let  us  bear  in  mind 
that  many  of  our  Ideas  are  old  ones,  they  have 
served  we'll  their  purpose,  but  for  some  reason 
our  views  are  antiquated,  too  old  fr.shioned,  and 
because  of  these  old  ways  governing  the  farm  in- 
terests, socially  and  commercially  the  boy3  and 
girls  become  neafisiok.  they  cud  we  know  not 
why,  but  the  disappointing  influences  continue. 

Now  let  us  have  a  change.  Let  us  consider 
more  the  want?-  of  the  young  minds,  and  not  fol- 
low up  to  closely  old  methods,  precedent.    " 

Some  good  economists  and  many  farmers  will 
agree  with  me  that  a  lawyer  is  a  curse,  a  less 
number  educated  at  our  expense  would  be  bet- 
ter, and  why?  Simply  because  they  represent 
too  much  law  (old  law),  arranged  to  suit  the 
wishes  of  the  past  age,  the  age  of  oppression  and 


526 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 


as  now  practiced  the  age  of  the  cities,  our  op- 
ponent. 

Being  old  and  stale  it  is  called  precedent.  The 
Alliance  wants  new  laws  of  value  to  us,  and  not 
so  much  precedent.  We  want  young  men  in 
mind,  even  if  surrounded  by  gray  hairs,  the 
honor  of  life. 

This  is  an  age  of  progression,  an  age  of  elec- 
tricity, an  age  of  combination,  of  the  harmoniz- 
ing of  like  interests.  The  boys  and  girls  see 
this,  the  spirit  of  their  surroundings  raake  thorn 
feel  it  more  keenly  than  is  possible  for  us  older 
ones.  It  gives  them  more  pain  than  we  can  ap- 
preciate—then let  us  be  very  lenient,  let  us  be 
very  consistent,  taking  all  these  conditions  as 
statements  of  fact. 

I  say  give  the  younger  growing  brains  a  chance 
to  develop— give  them  allotted  work  which  may 
be  of  value  to  them  and  to  us.  Ask  them  to 
study  and  suggest  new  plans.  No  fear  but  tbey 
can  and  will  do  it,  and  it  is  with  them  the  life  of 
our  order  rests.  They  will  respect  our  experi- 
ence and  age  to  consult  with  us,  but  consider 
seriously,  the  Alliance  needs  young  blood  to 
cope  with  our  adversaries  in  the  cities. 

Have  you  ever  observed  that  the  leading  mo- 
nopolists of  the  cities,  the  men  whom  we  now 
find  the  hardest  to  master,  are  the  boys  from  the 
farm?  These  are  of  the  boys  who  did  not  like 
the  old  fogy  methods  that  wer6  there  practiced. 
This  is  the  blood  we  want  to  remain  with  us,  to 
help  iu  the  struggle  for  our  homes,  our  very 
being. 

Do  not  oppose  a  boy,  particularly  a  farmer's 
boy  whom  the  Almighty  has  done  so  much  for, 
but  let  us  ask  him  to  not  leave  the  farm,  but  in- 
stead to  suggest  what  he  thinks  better  for  us  to 
do.  We  will  in  turn  likely  be  surprised  at  the 
answers,  but  then  be  considerate ;  they  may  not 
be  very  far  wrong. 

For  debate,  moderate  discussion,  and  for  con- 
sideration in  a  commercial  sense  I  submit  here- 
with a  few  special  suggestions,  a  few  minor  with 
others  worthy  of  more  careful  study. 

Besides  the  resolutions  passed  at  our  conven- 
tions such  corrections  as  may  be  deemed  best  in 
our  laws  by  our  present  and  coming  congress 
and  state  legislatures  should  be  acted  upon  by 
the  Alliances,  and  having  prepared  our  wants 
make  such  demand  upon  the  members  of  the 
legislative  bodies  that  the  laws  asked  for  shall 
be  passed.  And  further,  consider  the  advisabil- 
ity of  a  law  covering,  that  at  any  time  a  state 
legislator  or  a  member  of  congress  would  not 
carry  out  his  agreement  with  the  people  who 
elected  him,  that  the  given  section  or  district 
electing  him  can,  by  vote,  at  once  regardless  of 
his  term  of  office,  withdraw  him  and  place  an- 
other in  his  stead. 

The  people  then  would  be  supreme  and  not 
governed  as  at  present  by  politicians.  Let  the 
vote  be  a  sacred  right  based  upon  the  interests 
of  tiie  home,  and  the  representative,  if  not  mak- 
ing good  his  agreement,  should  forfeit  his  right 
to  longer  act  as  the  agent  of  the  home.  Again, 
the  man  who  will  vote  for  a  price  and  not 
from  conviction  of  principle  should  be  disfran- 
chised. Commercial  enterprises  are  in  keeping 
with  farmers'  work,  and  their  bearing  upon  the 
farm  must  be  studied,  for  we  are  both  laborer 
and  manufacturer.  Concentration  of  time  and 
saving  of  wastage  is  the  key  to  commercial  suc- 
cess. 

Co-operative  business  enterprises  of  all  kinds 
must  be  adopted  by  Alliance  people  in  due  time. 
The  co-operative  stores  of  the  old  countries  are  a 
marked  success  and  they  will  be  the  same  here, 
provided  they  are  placed  under  the  control  of 
such  men,  who  have  proved  themselves  to  be  a 
success,  and  not  as  has  been  too  frequently  the 
Case,  to  place  such  cares  in  the  hands  of  some 
enthusiast  who,  though  willing  to  labor  for  a 
pmall  salary,  had  not  the  first  principle  of  busi- 
ness or  business  experience  about  him. 

A  man  who  has  all  to  make  and  nothing  to 


lose  is  not  the  proper  person  to  trust  with  any 
enterprise,  and  particularly  a  co-operative  one. 
Under  proper  management  more  profit  could  be 
made  by  the  farmer  for  his  produce,  ana  the  con- 
sumer get  his  eatables  cheaper.  As  an  illustra- 
tion, the  tradesmen"s  ^o  operative  scores  in  Great 
Britain  supply  their  customers  with  our  Ameri- 
can bacon  and  other  products  cheaper  than  is 
possible  for  the  consumer  in  this  country  to  buy 
from  our  country  or  ciry  stores.  But  mind  you, 
without  good  management  the  outcome  will  be 
a  financial  failure,  a  disappointment. 

Telephone  service  is  the  next  important  ad- 
junct to  a  farm  and  when  generally  adopted, 
and  the  building  and  the  keeping  up  of  the  lines 
to  be  by  tax  similar  to  road  tax,  the  telephones 
to  be  paid  for  by  the  user,  will  bring  the  farmers 
closer  together,  and  will  in  a  gr<  at  measure  less- 
en the  disadvantages  which  they  must  now  bear, 
as  compared  with  their  city  brethren,  when 
questions  of  daily  demand  are  to  be  acted  upon, 
ihave  made  use  of  farm  telephone  service  for 
five  years  and  would  not  now  want  to  work  with- 
out it.  In  the  interest  of  the  Alliance,  I  have  a 
proposition  from  Che  telephone  company,  but 
the  rate  is  too  high  as  yet. 

Consider  this  question  carefully,  also  local  or 
township  circulating  libraries.  Statistical  enum- 
erators should  be  selected  from  Alliance  men; 
that  is,  such  men  as  would  pass  the  required  ex- 
amination to  prove  that  they  are  competent  to 
gather  statistics  covering  farm  products.  At 
present  the  manipulators  of  the  grain  and  other 
products  in  the  market  have  experienced  men, 
well  paid,  who  make  accurate  reports  to  their 
masters,  while  our  government  select  politicians 
too  frequently  whose  aim  is  to  satisfy  their  mas- 
ters—the men  who  now  run  the  government,  our 
nation's  gamblers.  1  would  like  very  much,  and 
I  believe  it  advisable,  for  some  few  young  farm- 
ers to  co-operate  in  farming,  to  organize  a  joint 
stock  company,  and  at  first,  perhaps,  to  rent 
farms  and  begin  a  system  of  farming  where  ac- 
counts are  carefully  kept  of  all  expenditures  and 
incomes. 

If  this  can  be  done  then  the  farmer  will  have  a 
practical  education  in  account  keeping  in  like 
manner  as  is  done  in  business  elsewhere,  and  if 
carried  out  to  a  business  conclusion  th&re  will  be 
much  of  the  lands  of  our  country  go  into  hands 
of  farmers'  joint  stock  companies  where  less 
machinery  will  be  required  proportionally,  and 
with  greater  returns.  The  foremanship  of  these 
places  will  require  an  educated  practical  man, 
a  man  of  intelligence  and  business  capacity, 
thus  making  increased  demand'!  for  agricultural 
colleges,  experiment  stations,  district  farm  acad- 
emies with  farms  profitably  handled,  attached, 
and  agricultural  training  in  our  country  schools. 
It  will  also  have  the  tendency  to  make  the  home 
farmer,  the  man  with  the  family  and  the  small 
farm,  king  of  his  holdings.  The  wife  and  chil- 
dren will  not  be  as  too  many  of  them  are  now — 
slaves  to  cook  for  working  men— too  much  to  do, 
and  nothing  but  hardship  in  return. 

The  home  on  the  farm  should  be  a  better 
source  of  intelligence  than  even  the  home  in  the 
city.  Too  much  manual  labor  destroys  the  more 
valuable  brain  power.  Other  corporations  in 
harmony  should  be  considered.  Local  slaughter 
house  building  should  have  a  hearing,  and  if  a 
sufficient  number  of  farmers  will  kill  their  own 
product  in  cattle,  hogs,  sheep  and  poultry,  ar- 
rangements can  be  made  for  special  refrigerator 
car  rates  that  our  dead  meats  may  be  taken  to 
cold  storage  houses  in  the  East  for  sale  in  pri- 
vate, or  by  public  outcry.  I  am  in  correspond- 
ence with  cold  storage  houses  in  the  eastern 
markets,  and  trust  before  long,  if  the  farmers 
will  co-operate,  we  will  do  something  toward 
checking  the  "Big  Four"  from  getting  every- 
thing away  from  us. 

Lawyers  are  educated  at  our  expense  and  in 
many  cases  pester  without  cause.  Many  a  note 
would  not  be  forced  to  collection  at  the  time  jj 


PEOCEEDINGS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  FAEMEES'  ALLIANCE. 


527 


was  due,  perhaps  causing  great  sacrifice  to  the 
giver,  and  which  could  easily  be  paid  with 
proper  interest  in  a  short  time  thereafter  were 
it  not  that  the  attorney  desired  a  reputation  for 
being  a  good  collector.  Rarely  are  they  ever  dis- 
barred, but  in  every  case  forcing  themselves  into 
positions  of  apparent  responsibility,  but  which 
in  the  end  is  mainly  a  trust  for  themselves.  At- 
torneys (and  other  collectors)  should  pay  a 
heavy  license,  and  their  disbarrment  not  to  be 
brought  about  by  decisions  of  their  professional 
brethren,  but  instead  if  any  complaint  is  made 
against  any  one  of  them,  that  there  should  be  a 
proper  hearing  where  the  statement  of  the  facts 
should  be  made  upon  both  sides.  This  evidence 
then  should  be  sent  to  the  trustees,  say  in  each 
township  or  county  in  the  state,  and  they  by 
vote  pass  judgment  upon  the  acts  of  the  attor- 
ney. 

Some  such  check  as  this  would  soon  make  at- 
torneys and  collectors  a  little  more  respectable. 
They  would  work  honestly  then,  and  not  as  now 
prick  up  the  creditor  with  false  statements 
against  the  debtor  that  he  might  be  the  first  one 
to  get  his  neighbor,  perhaps  friend  into  financial 
trouble  and  clouded  for  all  time  with  an  un- 
merited discredit.  In  this  connection,  since  we 
must  for  the  present  employ  attorneys,  Alliances 
should  have  one  attorney  or  arrange  to  cut  down 
on  expense  of  suits.  In  many  cases  an  adjudi- 
cating board  might  be  established,  and  having 
examined  the  grounds  of  difficulty  might  in- 
fluence the  opposition  very  materially  in  bring- 
ing about  a  settlement.  If  "not  and  the  case  is  a 
just  one,  the  whole  should  stand  the  expense  of 
the  suit. 

Judges,  like  attorneys,  labor  for  their  class. 
The  evidence  may  be  sufficient  to  convince  a 
jury  even  of  farmers  that  a  given  decision  should 
be  made,  but  the  judge's  cnarge  to  the  jury  is 
frequently  so  worded  that  the  evidence  bears  no 
part  in  the  banging  about  of  a  decision.  All 
manner  of  tricks  in  law  fill  our  statutes  and  we 
must  look  over  the  laws  carefully  and  discover 
what  must  be  legislated  out  of  them.  One  law 
in  Iowa  (and  likely  in  other  states)  I  can  call  to 
mind  is  that  which  gives  the  right  of  a  fee  to  the 
attorney  or  collector,  say  on  a  note,  even  if  the 
attorney  fee  clause  is  stricken  out.  Again,  that 
no  suit  could  be  commenced  upon  any  bill  or 
account  unless  the  claimant  first  made  oath  that 
the  account  was  correct  and  that  thisoath  should 
be  attached  to  the  bill  when  presented.  And 
further,  that  if  the  claim  then  be  not  a  rightful 
one  and  suit  commenced  damages  should  be 
paid  by  the  creditor  for  the  insult, 

Another  case  in  point  is  that  machine  manu- 
facturers should  keep  certain  repairs  for  their 
machines  within  a  given  distance  of  the  place 
where  the  machine  was  sold,  or  where  the  pur- 
chaser stated  at  the  time  of  purchase  it  was  to  be 
used,  and  if  the  repairs  were  not  so  kept  there, 
then  the  farmer  should  have  the  right  to  obtain 
damages  to  the  extent  of  hi3  loss  from  the  ma- 
chine manufacturer.  As  it  is  now,  the  purchas- 
er is  talked  into  buying  some  improved  machine 
and  because,  oftentimes,  the  repairs  for  the  old 
machine  being  hard  to  get,  he  buys  a  new  one 
wh-i-'a  he  does  not  need  and  can  do  without,  pro- 
vided repairs— and  good  repairs— are  kept  near 
at  hand.  It  is  a  moral  right  that  the  machine 
man  should  act  as  a  partner  in  a  measure  in 
keeping  repairs  near  at  hand  that  the  purchaser 
could  receive  full  value  for  his  investment  in  a 
machine  which  no  mechanic  ordinarily  found 
can  repair,  except  in  minor  breaks. 

A  tax  or  rental  for  lands  used  by  ranchmen 
should  be  assessed  to  them  by  the  government 
that  they  could  not  then  be  such  vicious  compet- 
itors in  the  stock  market  with  those  of  us  who 
raise  our  stock  upon  lands  upon  which  high 
taxes  are  placed.  At  present  the  average  cost  of 
a  steer  on  the  plains  ia  less  than  one-half  what  it 
costs  us. 

'Irrigation,  the  opening  up  of  new  farms  in  the 


West,  may  very  materially  increase  the  farm 
product  of  the  country.  Do  we  want  to  assist  in 
this  movement  by  granting  government  aid?  Or, 
is  it  not  better  for  those  who  desire  to  put  down 
artesian  wells  as  a  speculative  investment  to  do 
so  at  their  individual  expense? 

Railroads  should  have  the  water  taken  from 
their  bonds  and  stocks  by  simply  apprais- 
ing the  roads  at  given  intervals  at  their 
actual  cost  to  buiid  and  operate  at  that 
time,  and  that  freight  rates  should  be  based 
upon  the  value  of  the  thus  kiln-dried  material, 
than  as  at  present  in  its  wet  goods  condition.  If 
this  were  to  be  done  I  think  passenger  and 
freight  rates  would  be  lowered  at  once  about  75 
per  cent.  Of  course  the  money  kings  will  say 
this  is  robbery,  but  they  do  not  say  so  when  they 
put  a  price  en  our  cattle  and  hogs. 

All  private  corporations  I  believe  should  be 
placed  under  a  state  board  of  control  similar  to 
the  railroad  board  of  commissioners  in  our 
state.  The  main  reason  for  this  is,  that  there 
are  usually  certain  privileges  given  to  holders  of 
stock  in  any  corporation  which  an  individual  in 
business  cannot  enjoy.  All  corporations  should 
in  a  measure  be  linked  under  the  same  general 
state  or  gov-,  rnment  supervision  as  railroads. 
We  must  come  to  it  sooner  or  later— why  net  the 
Alliance  take  the  credit  and  thus  make  a 
strength  outside  our  ranks? 

In  place  of  advocating  the  voting  of  a  large 
tax  to  assist  in  the  building  up  of  a  great  city  we 
should  begin  by  making  use  of  this  tax  for  the 
bettering  of  our  public  roads — all  road  tax  should 
be  aided  by  general  state  tax  and  this  to  be  made 
upon  mainly  if  not  wholly  from  corporations, 
private  or  semi-private,  and  other  large  accumu- 
lations of  private  or  individual  wealth.  Let  us 
free  the  home  as  much  as  possible  from  debt 
and  direct  taxation. 

In  times  like  these,  when  business  of  all  kinds 
is  demoralized  because  of  the  stringency  of 
money,  and  prices  of  farm  products  are  reduced 
very  much  in  value,  so  that  the  producer  can  not 
get  even  just  pay  for  his  labor,  and  further,  that 
our  government  has  at  many  time3  and  all  times 
when  asiied,  come  to  the  assistance  of  Wail 
Street  and  other  financial  strongholds,  it  would 
seem  that  some  assistance  should  be  conceded 
as  proper  were  it  to  be  bestowed  upon  the  farm- 
ers who  are  by  far  the  the  greater  number  of 
debtors  in  this  country. 

And  further,  in  a  crisis  like  the  present,  when 
banks  will  not  lend  any  money,  would  it  not  be 
justice  should  suit  be  brought  on  any  note  and 
thui  causing  additional  expense  to  the  debtor, 
and  other  loss  that  he  might  sustain  in  sacrific- 
ing his  products  to  meet  the  demand,  that  the 
creditor  should  be  compelled  to  deduct  from  the 
claim  the  amount  of  damages  so  made  to  the 
debtor?  A  leading  western  banker  told  me  a  few 
days  ago  that  it  was  not  safe  to  force  a  claim 
against  any  one  for  fear  of  causing  a  stampede 
of  depositors,  and  the  bringing  about  of  a  finan- 
cial crash,  claiming  money  to  be  closer  than 
in  1872. 

If  bankers  consider  the  present  financial  status 
of  the  country  to  be  in  this  condition,  is  it  not 
just  that  persons  having  claims  should  wait  until 
such  times  that  confidence  is  somewhat  restored 
and  at  least  a  partial  return  of  prosperity,  before 
demanding  a  forced  collection?  For  times  like 
these,  we  should  have  township  committees, 
whose  duty  it  would  be  to  act  as  an  arbitration 
board,  to  whom  all  claims  against  any  citizen 
within  the  township  could  be  referred,  and  these 
men  decide,  by  calling  for  evidence  showing  the 
debtor's  financial  condition,  whether,  or  not, 
under  the  circumstances  under  which,  ne  was 
laboring  at  the  time,  and  consistently  with  the 
better  interest  of  his  position  as  a  citizen  of  that 
township  be  compelled  to  sacrifice  his  products 
to  pay  the  debt,  or  with  proper  (average)  security 
he  would  be   permitted   to  wait   his  pleasure  in 


5a8 


FEOCEEDINGS  OP  THE  NATIONAL  PARMEKS'  ALLIANCE. 


making  payments,  the  debt,  however,  to  bear  in- 
terest as  agreed  upon  in  body  of  note. 

This  same  practice  wonld  be  very  applicable 
to  merchants  and  others  in  the  r  hies  and  towns, 
f;>r  I  am  aware  of  the  greatest  crimes  committed 
by  bankers  who  in  their  dec-ire  to  loan  money  to 
their  customers,  or  to  ne^h~.  some  wholesalers  to 
Bell  goods,  leads  the  borrower  on  and  promises 
to  continue  farther  assistance,  bin  who  without 
any  excuse  or  notice  given  in  time  to  be  of  any 
assistance,  would  file  claims  at  once  against  the 
d'iped  creditor,  many  times  closing  bim  out  and 
thus  causing  hiaj  irreparable  Iobs  in  property, 
and  above  all  in  name. 

To  convince  myself  of  the  cause  of  failures 
in  the  state  of  Iowa  for  one  year,  I  made  special 
investigation  of  nearly  every  case  some  years 
ago  and  found  this  deception  to  be  the  main 
cause,  and  it  is  this,  and  this  alone,  which  makes 
such  a  large  list  of  failures  in  the  cities  and 
town3. 

Men  are  made  bankrupts  because  of  the 
viclousness  of  the  mGney  lender  and  his  attor- 
ney. Have  a  law  granting  the  existence  of  self- 
defense  committees,  who  can  also  act  as  an 
arbitration  board  lor  ali  disputes  aud  claims  and 
we  will  have  checked  the  villany  of  what  is 
now  considered  just  under  the  caption  "busi- 
ness," and  will  have  saved  m  rh  loss  to  those 
who  are  more  rightly  entitled  to  the  accumula- 
tions of  an  average  birthright. 

Business  as  we  now  know  the  term  is  that  cor- 
relation of  forces  which  says  to  every  man,  every 
woman,  every  child,  you  are  a  rascal. 

And  in  times  like  these  the  many  who  are  be- 
ing oppressed,  driven  from  pillar  to  post  to 
make  good  some  cia:m— Eorae  paltry  sum  to  keep 
some  greedy  conspirator  of  a  creditor  from  ad- 
ding costs  and  taking  the  hard  earnings  of  the 
debtor  and  family  fur  a  life  lime,  the  accumula- 
tions which  have  been  made  through  the  loss 
of  flesh  and  blood  is  struggling  in  millions  of 
instances  at  this  moment.  Is  not  this  anarchy? 
i  say  yes.  The  credit  system  is  the  curse  of  the 
world.  It  is  unnatural,  therefore  severe.  Then 
let  us  meet  the  issue  for  we  are  the  defenders  of 
homes. 

This  much  and  I  must  call  your  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  operating  crowning  influence 
by  which  we  can  bring  about  proper  relief 
through  new  laws  or  commercial  and  social  co- 
operation comes  under  the  idea  to  federate. 
With  all  our  plans  and  purposes  of  education  to 
accomplish  much  outside  of  oar  own  respective 
states,  we  mutt  federate,  and  in  federation  in  a 
limited  or  to  a  greater  extent  as  we  may  deter- 
mine, we  can  co-operate  with  others  with  like 
laborers,  who  perhaps  having  demands  we  can 
not  consent  to,  stiil  in  the  main  may  not  be  far 
separated  arid  by  a  thorough  investigation  of  the 
effect  that  the  demands  might  have  upon  each 
other,  a  reasonable  settlement  could  be  made, 
and  a  farther  strengthening  of  our  farmers' 
position,  which  is  the  aim  of  all  producer's 
orders,  no  matter  under  whut  name  they  may  be 
knows. 

I»  turn  we  might  have  a  clwini  or  demand  to 
make  'apou  congress,  and  without  the  assistance 
of  all  other  states'  orders  it  would  prove  of  no 
avail,  whereas  if  we  extended  a  helping  hand, 
the  Slier  of  the  soil  anywhere  would  not  be  the 
first  to  forget  it. 

Business  secrecy  should  permeate  all  our  work- 
ings; it  is  of  much  value,  of  vital  importance; 
il e  tell  too  much  to  our  opponents,  we  should 
irtdy  let  them  know  just  enough  to  make  them 
tt-il  «s  as  much  as  we  can  gel  from  them  of  the 
secrets  of  their  business.  Give  but  little,  but  get 
ail  you  can,  for  we  need  it. 

As  a  aon-partisan  organization  we  hold  the 
position  of  a  great  electro-magnet,  having  back 
of  us  our  natural  resources,  supplying  our  eduear 
tional  facilities  with  the  require  d"  electrical  cur- 
rent to  form  us  into  a  magnet  of  such  strength 
that  the  better  metal  of  our  opponents,  for  gen- 


eral purposes,  is  drawn  to  us,  leaving  the  dro^a 
behind.  We  have  this  natural  position  -will  we 
make  use  of  it?  Let  me  eay  with  you,  and  mu- 
thinks  1  hear  it  throughout  the  whole  land,  w  e 
must,  we  will  make  use  of  it. 

The  partisan  press  and  leaders  may  accuse  U3 
of  being  fanatical,  communistic,  anarchi»l,  dem- 
agogues, cranks  and  the  like.  This  is 
their  plea,  this  their  defense  to  our  just 
demand?.  Do  not  heed  them;  the  more  said, 
the  more  we  must  do,  as  the  boys  have 
done  when  leaving  the  farm.  We  must  heed 
logical  argument,  but  none  that  are  merely  given 
to  lead  us  away  from  our  object — even  by  paid 
deceivers  within  our  ranks. 

Once  it  was  written:  "These  are  the  times  that 
try  men's  bouls.  The  summer  eoldier  and  the 
sunshine  patriot  will  in  this  crisis  shrink  from 
the  service  of  his  country;  but  he  that  etnnds  it 
now  deserves  the  thanks  of  mar  and  woman. 
Tyranny,  lika  hell,  is  not  easily  conquered  ;  yet 
we  have  this  consolation  with  us,  that  the  harder 
the  conflict  the  more  glorious  the  triumph." 
And,  brothers  and  sisters,  in  our  mind's  concep- 
tion do  we  not  hear  the  echo  from  the  dried-np 
plains  of  Kansas,  the  Dakotas  of.  the  north,  and 
continuing  \v  ith  its  calls  and  answers  in  rever- 
beration from  throughout  the  whole  land,  with- 
out break  for  cause  of  line  rr  section,  returning 
to  the  prairies  of  Nebraska andmyor7nHawkeye 
home  and  birth-place,  that  we  will  notyield  until 
our  insignia,  with  its  stars  and  stripes,  be  not 
complete  nor  prove  its  intrinsic  value  in  quantity 
and  quality  unless  it  shall  bear  the  center  piece 
representing  the  home  and  its  surroundings,, 
trulv  representing  ownership  and  occupation  by 
intelligent  beings— an  ideal,  yet  practical  re- 
public. 

And  yet  while  wc  feel  that  it  is  just  and  right 
to  attempt  the  working  out  of  this  broad  plat- 
form, let  hs  consider  a  little  within  our  own  cir- 
cle. The  farmers  as  a  whole  have  much  heredi- 
tary influence  to  combat;  in  this  I  refer  particu- 
larly to  the  inert  condition  of  the  farmers  them- 
selves; for  ages  they  have  been  the  common 
feast,  the  tidbit  for  all,  and,  like  the  deer  of  the 
forest,  thev  have  been  hounded  and  huuted  uutil 
every  fall  of  a  limb,  every  crack  of  a  twig  or  rus- 
tle of  a  commercial  or  political  leaf  has  caused 
him  and  Ins  family  pain,  and  well  it  has,  thus 
calling  into  action  nature's  better  elements  for 
defense,  or  there  would  be  none  left  to  form  an 
Allianc  e. 

With  this  hereditary  taint  upon  our  brothers 
and  sisters  in  this  work,  we  must  study  well  the 
illustration  of  the  deer  and  his  cares;  when  the 
weak  ones,  throsgh  fear,  rush  unto  bim  for 
assistance  oft-times,  in  his  rage  and  because  of 
his  low  order  of  intelligence,  he  will  strike 
friend  and  foe  alike.  Let  us  defend  our  homes, 
and  with  special  care  those  we  are  in  the  habit 
of  calling  weaker  ones,  until  they  can  defend 
themselves;  but  let  us  not  be  too  mindful  of  our 
own  views,  our  own  importauce;  make  no  sport 
of  the  man  or  woman,  old  or  young,  who,  per- 
haps not  yoor  ideal,  you  think  cannot,  or  ought 
not,  to  be  taken  in  full  harmony  with  your 
labors.  Bear  in  mind  that  the  ragged  boot-black 
has  often-times  assisted  in  arranging  the  master- 
pieces of  statesmen. 

Let  us  first  have  faith  in  the  honesty  of  our 
officers  and  members  alike;  let  each  person 
make  the  comparison  of  his  fellow  workers  upon 
the  like  basis  as  himself,  and  the  All'ance  must 
then  be  a  unit. 

Let  us  look  forward  to  better  times,  less  inter- 
est, less  taxes,  better  schools,  more  learning, 
greater  knowledge,  more  equitable  relationship 
between  producer  and  consumer,  socially  as 
well  as  commercially,  to  the  time  when  tele- 
phones will  be  of  common  use,  our  wagon  roads 
be  much  improved,  and  traction  engines  and 
wire  tramways  or  electric  cars  be  in  use  carrying 
our  products  to  the  railroad  station,  instead  of  as 
now  by  the  heavily  burdened  wagon.   These  and 


psasssBmsss  &f  she  sjAfnoxAL  eaemees'  alliance. 


529 


numberless  other  required  improvements  will 
give  us  E^ore  hours  for  study,  and  to  obtain  them 
we  fattst  first  begin  by  study  and  improvement  in 
ourselves. 

In  conclusion,  permit  me  to  offer  a  suggestion : 
I>al  justly  with  all,  har.nonize  all  conflicting  in- 
teie'jts,  firht  ^viihiD  our  own  ranis;  then  will  we 
be  the  strous/er  to  offer  cue  hand  of  compromise, 
of  treating  consistently  even  with  our  enemies, 
:a  mi  earnest  wish  of  one  whose  interests  and 
sympathies  are  Grst,  last  and  all  the  time  with 
>'ho  Alliance.  I  rhank  you,  progressive  tillers  of 
;h-?  soil,  for  your  attention. 

To  *he  b  -others  and  sisters  of  the  Farmer8't  Al- 
Uvn..-,e:  Our  honorable  president  has  deemed  it 
hc.it  for  the  Alliance  to  appoint  an  educational 
is&oraiitiee  of  rive,  the  writer  being  one  of  them. 
v>  ifh  this  appointment  I  would  respectfully  ask 
tii  1  !o  correspond  with  me  upon  any  matter  out- 
lined in  ihe  above.  Any  question  asked  I  will 
•■  iia-  rt'ully  answer  if  possible,  and  will  consider 
i  t  a  great  favor  if  you  will  make  report  to  ma  of 
the  result  of  your  discussion  upon  any  coinmer- 
ci« !  question  suggested  above  or  which  in  your 
opinion  suggests  itself  as  likely  to  prove  of  value 
to  other  Alliances. 

Following  which  Mr.  Milton  George, 
publisher  of  the  Western  Rural,  Chicago, 
read  the  following  paper  : 

BEJORMS  AND  REFORMERS. 

The  human  race  has  struggled  along  through 
the  ages  with  alternate  periods  of  hope  and  de- 
spair, aBking  tor  God-given  rights  that  were  so 
evidently  man's,  that  even  those  who  denied 
them  would  not  dispute  the  justice  of  the  claim. 
We  are  to-day  living  in  the  midst  of  a  brilliant 
civilization.  The  world  has  reached  it  through 
many  hard  and  discouraging  experiences, 
through  severe  struggles,  and  even  through  seas 
of  blood.  Upon  every  hand  the  genius  of  intel- 
lect .  is  painting  even  nature  with  additional 
splendor,  and  turning  the  rough  elements  of  the 
mine,  the  field  and  the  factory  into  wealth  and 
beauty  ostensibly  for  the  comfort  of  the  humau 
re  ce.      '__ 

We  touch  the  wild  plain  and  the  valley,  and 
ib;y  become  blossoming  fragrant  gardens.  We 
Horn  the  river  and  the  rivulet  into  the  desert,  and 
it,  too,  buds  and  blossoms  like  the  rose.  We 
*t.jp  upon  the  marshes  and  the  quicksands,  and 
the  most  magnificent  cities  of  the  world,  throb- 
bi  ug  with  life  and  enterprise,  lift  their  splendid 
proportions  and  charm  the  world  with  their 
iraatness  and  stately  grandeur.  If  asked  to-day 
what  splendid  America  needs  to  perfect  her 
material  maguificenee  and  insure  her  highest 
future  material  development,  he  who  knows 
America  knows  her  splendid  resources,  her  rest- 
Lees  enterprise  and  the  sturdy  character  of  her 
men  and  her  women,  would  answer  nothing 
save  the  universal  recognition  of  justice  between 
man  and  man,  and  class  and  clas3.  Through  all 
the  centuries  the  world  has  been  starving  for 
jiwt  what  America  lacks  to-day.  Ours  is  not  the 
only  brilliant  civilization  that  the  world  has  seen 
and  enjoyed.  Genius  is  not  peculiar  to  our 
tiaica.  It  has  glowed  like  a  quenchless  sun  in 
the  studios  and  art  galleries  of  the  past;  in  the 
magnificent  architecture  upon  whose  walls  and 
pillars  are  to-day  the  rust  and  masses  of  the 
sees;  in  Pompeiis,  and  Athens  and  Romes,  with 
their  temples  and  refinement,  and  extravagances 
and  crushing  vices,  and  yet  upon  all  these  sits 
now  the  hideous  skeletons  of  death  and  decay. 
As  we  grope  our  way  back  through  the  ruins  of 
fae  material  past,  the  crumbling  and  crumbled 
st.iteliness  of  the  grandest  conceptions  of  the 
human  mind,  and  the  grandest  executions  of 
the  human  hand  are  full  of  pathetic  suggestive- 
jnesii. 

rUtious  have  arisen  in  a  blaze  of  glory,  ruling 
even  the  world  for  the  time,  and  then  faded  into 
m   black   shadow   upon   the   pages   of   history. 


Athens  was  magnificent  in  her  tastes  and  achieve- 
ments. The  enthusiastic  love  of  the  beautiful 
which  animated  the  Athenian  turned  even  his 
religion  into  an  art,  making  his  worship  an  edu- 
cation in  EB&theties.  Their  mythological  faith 
stvod  daily  before  their  eyes  in  monumental 
spiendor,  for  nearly  every  Deity  had  his  temple 
or  shrine  in  the  elegant  city  of  art.  But  the  very 
brilliancy  of  the  limes  and  place,  shown  in  the 
architecture,  art  and  literature,  consumed  the 
very  class  that  made  these  things  possible.  The 
plebeian  who  had  created  all  ihe  splendors  of 
the  famous  city  was  reduced  to  serfdom,  while 
the  Patrician— the  "man  of  affairs"— lived  amhlst 
luxurious  elegance,  and  rioted  in  idleness  and 
worse.  Rome,  brilliant,  imperial  Rome,  forgot 
the  men  who  had  built  her  temples  and  Elled 
her  nrt  galleries  and  clothed  her  with  magnif- 
icence, and  then  the  glory  of  proud  Rome  be^.au 
to  fade,  audit  ceased  11  ■£ until  all  that  was  left 
of  Rome  was  a  disfigured  memory. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  American  nation  to  study 
the  causes  of  the  downfall  of  the  nations  that 
have  preceded  it,  and  to  avoid  them  if  possible. 
It  i3  not  difficult  to  discover  that  some  of  the 
causes  which  worked  the  ruin  of  ancient  com- 
munities are  at  work  in  this  nation  of  ours. 
The  centralization  of  populations  »nd  of  power 
is  inimical  to  the  best  interests  of  any  peopie. 

The  ignoring  of  the  rights  of  the  masses  is  in- 
evitably disastrous,  and  when  the  rights  of  labor 
are  neglected  and  its  dignity  despised,  and  the 
people  who  are  guilty  of  the  indiscretion  and 
wrong  are  heading  not  toward  great  prosperity, 
but  toward  a  fatal  plunge  to  deaih. 

While  great  cities  may  contain  much  that  is 
good  and  best  in  government,  they  also  contain 
that  which  is  worst  and  vilest,  and  furnish  a 
great  source  of  danger  to  society  and  to  the  Re- 
public. The  tendency  of  society  during  all 
periods  of  the  World's  history  has  been  so  much 
toward  that  which  is  evil,  that  reformers  have 
been  necessary  and  have  attracted  the  attention 
of  all  historians  and  have  done  much  to  amel- 
iorate the  conditions  of  mankind.  Many  of 
these  well  meaning  people  have  been  extremists 
.find  often  exceedingly  impractical  in  their  meth- 
ods and  thus  hindered  what  they  wished  to  pro- 
mote, gs 

It  has  usually  remained  for  conservative,  prac- 
tical people  to  follow  with  practical  measures 
for  the  accomplishment  of  reforms.  The  anti 
slavery  agitators— the  men  and  women,  who  1b 
their  indignation  resolved  that  ihe  constitution 
was  a  "Covenant  with  death  and  a  league  with 
hell,"  who  denounced  the  flag  as  a  flaunting  lie, 
and  were  otherwise  intemperate  in  expression 
and  action,  provoked  the  rebellion  which  led  to 
our  late  civil  war,  while  the  conservative  party, 
abolished  slavery,  the  greatest  sin  of  the  Isation 
and  saved  the  union. 

The  Greenback  party,  composed  of  some  of 
the  most  sterling  men,  contended  for  the  issue 
of  all  money  by  the  government  through  several 
political  campaigns,  but  owing  to  some  of  the 
party  fanatics i  leaders,  it  failed  to  attract  a 
mighty  following.  Bat  it  called  attention  to  a 
great  principal  which  a  conservative  supreme 
court  representing  fee  conservative  sentiment 
of  the  people,  pronounced  constitutional,  aud 
to-day  the  right  of  the  people  10  issue  their  own 
moTiey  is  unquestionable,  which  now  may  be 
elaborated  to  meet  the  demands  of  business  and 
commerce.  By  the  persistent,  effort  of  the  pro- 
hibition party,  the  cause,  of  temperance  has  been 
delayed  ten  years,  by  roason  of  its  exacting  de- 
mands, and  it  now  remains  for  the  conservative 
party  to  rrystalize  the  temperance  sentiments 
into  an  engluory  of  power  to  sweep  the  rum  traf- 
fic from  the  face  of  the  earth  foievot;  During 
our  political  campaigns,  the  war  of  the  rebellion 
is  usually  fought  over  and  over  again  with 
fierceness  that  amoinus  to  an  unreasonable  and 
unpardonable  radicalism. 

The  partisan  press  applauds  all  that  is  said  to 


530 


PEOCEEUDTOS  OF  THE  KA-TIONA^  'FASMKBSSA-B&IAaJCE. 


create  or  widen  the  breach  between  two  great 
sections  of  ftcounrnon  country.  Living  under  a 
government  that-  has  been  founded  as  no  other 
government  has  been  founded — upon  frater- 
nity— our  political  campaigns  are  largely  an  as- 
sault upon  the  doctrine  of  the  universal  broth- 
erhood of  men,  and  weakening  to  the  bonds  that 
hold  the  Union  together.  It  is  the  patriotic  duty 
of  the  conservative  farmer,  who  is  to-day  crying 
out  for  the  rights  of  a  citizen  and  a  man,  to,rec- 
ognize  the  deplorable  effect  of  radical,  rasping 
partisan  utterances  and  actions,  and  endeavor 
to  conteract  the  influence  by  demanding  a  fuller 
recognition  of  the  principles  of  fraternity,  the 
fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  men. 

The  husbandman  has  a  much  broader  mission 
than  simply  securing  his  own  rights.  It  is  true, 
that  in  securing  these  he  will  bestow  a  gTeat 
blessing  upon  the  whole  country,  as  well  as  upon 
himself.  It  is  surprising  that  while  America  is 
pre-eminently  an  agricultural  country,  hus- 
bandry has  been  looked  upon  as  having  little 
significance  in  its  bearing,  in  its  economic  and 
social  questions  of  our  time.  Great  fortunes 
have  been  amassed  during  the  past  quarter  of  a 
century,  or  more  colossal  than  any  previously 
recorded  in  the  history  of  the  world.  The  new 
improvements  in  the  facilities  for  communica- 
tion, commerce  and  travel  have  opened  up  the 
gateways  through  which  must  pass  the  products 
of  the  soil  to  reach  the  ma  kets  of  the  world,  and 
through  which  must  come  the  necessaries  of 
life  which  the  producer  must  receive  in  exchange 
for  what  he  has  to  sell.  Neither  has  the  hus- 
bandman any  voice  in  what  he  shall  receive,  or 
what  he  shall  pay  for  what  he  sells  or  buys.  He 
Ls  even  at  the  mercy  of  the  public  carriers,  tbe 
transportation  companies,  which  exact  all  the 
traffic  will  bear. 

;The  farmers  have  patiently  submitted  to  being 
heavily  assessed  by  the  army  of  middlemen 
along  these  avenues  of  trade  and  commerce  to 
the  extent  that  untold  millions  have  gone  into 
the  hands  of  the  few,  which  by  right  belong  to 
the  many.  He  also  bends  his  back  to  the  bur- 
dens of  direct  taxation  because  of  the  tangible 
nature  of  his  property  which  produce  the  reve- 
nues necessary  to  support  the  great  aTmy  of 
office  holders  who  legislate  in  the  interest  of  the 
capitalistic  classes  and  corporations,  instead  of 
the  people  who  produce  the  wealth  of  the  na- 
tion. There  is  a  great  multitude  of  non-produc- 
ers who  look  upon  farmers  as  a  common  property 
to  be  leased  at  will,  and  all  sorts  of  schemes  are 
concocted  in  the  name  of  business  to  relieve 
them  of  their  legitimate  earnings. 

Is  it  to  be  expected  that  they  will  continue  to 
submit  to  being  thus  ruled  and  financially  min- 
ed? The  notice  has  already  gone  forth  that  they 
will  not,  and  if  they,  in  c  ming  to  the  front  on 
the  economic,  social  and  political  questions  of 
the  day,  give  "the  other  fellows"  a  dose  of  their 
ownlkindof  treatment,  as  retributive  justice, 
they  cannot  well  be  blamed  for  imposing  meas- 
ures of  retaliation  as  the  only  way  by  which  tbe 
farmers  will  ever  recover  lost  ground"financially. 

The  publisher  of  the  Western  Rural  was  in- 
strumental in  founding  the  Farmers'  Alliance 
April  15-Ln,  1880,  and  the  National  Alliance  Oct- 
ober 1-ith  of  the  same  year,  as  a  non-secret  and 
non-partisan  organization,  with  the  belief  that 
the  only  way  the  farmers  could  "hold  the  fort" 
against  the  encroachments  of  the  aggressors  was 
by  standing  together  in  an  organized  body;  that 
by  special  con  tact  the  walls  of  prejudice  might 
be  broken  down  and  farmers  lifted  out  of  the  old 
environments  of  inherited  opinions  and  preju- 
dices with  views  broadened  and  fraternal  rela- 
tions strengthened  for  the  better  performance  of 
the  duties  of  citizenship.  The  independent  vote 
in  the  late  election  was  the  result  of  the  social 
contact  and  interchange  of  opinions  in  the  farm- 
ers' organizations,  and  inclined  to  intelligent 
action  at  the  polls.  While  the  fanners' organi- 
zations, in  their  official  capacity,  are  non-parti- 


san and  must  remain  so,  xtiva  individual  merri 
bership  outside  the  orders,  as  free  Amencan 
citizens,  refused  to  fall  into  line  at  the  dictiaion 
of  the  "party  bosses." 

Ours  is  a  progressive  age,  and  the  farmers' 
movement  has  come  to  stay.  No  party  has  la". 
right  to  claim  tho  victory.  The  action  of  iho 
farmers  in  the  late  election  was  conservative, 
and  in  its  results  meant  the  success  of  nei'.hci 
party,  and  proved  conclusively  that  a  new  party 
movement  based  on  a  conservative  platform  em- 
bracing the  leading  reforms  so  much  needed, 
would  gain  a  sweeping  victory  in  electing  e!l 
officers  in  state  and  national  government,  in  18G2. 
A  free  people  in  its  dependent  citizenship  must 
finally  rule  this  country  instead  of  the  money 
power  and  the  chronic  office  holders.  The 
Farmers'  Alliance,  north  and  south,  with  its  ed- 
ucational facilities,  might  finally  solve  the  race 
problem  by  fitting  the  colored  people  for  a  self- 
reliant  citizenship.  The  prejudices  between  tbe 
two  sections  of  our  coun  ry,  North  and  South, 
might  be  allayed,  and  fraternal  relations  between 
all  classes  intensified.  The  bitter  enmities  be- 
tween the  two  old  parties  engendered  by  strifes 
of  the  late  civil  war  would  disappear,  the  rum 
demon  in  the  open  saloon  might  be  suppressed 
and  finally  blotted  out,  and  other  reform  work 
advocated  by  the  farmers  and  the  labor  elements 
of  the  nation  might  be  promoted.  All  these  ob- 
jects are  worth  striving  for.  The  Farmers'  Alli- 
ance and  other  organizations  should  be  caution- 
ed along  these  lines  of  conservative  but  persist 
ent  action  by  all  who  have  an  interest  in  the  final 
triumph  of  the  many  needed  measures  of  reform 
now  agitating  the  public  mind'.  Complete  or- 
ganization is  one  of  the  first  requisites  for  suc- 
cessfully reaching  any  great  results  for  the  bet- 
terment of  the  condition  of  our  people,  whether 
they  be  farmers  or  wage  workers.  If  the  actions 
of  the  farmers  are  persistent  and  progressive,  as 
outlined  above,  they  must  soon  be  the  ruling 
class  in  all  the  affairs  of  government.  It  may 
seem  to  some  of  us  that  our  progress  in  the  work 
of  reform  has  been  slow  and  discouraging.  Foi 
fifteen  years  we  have  been  laboring  steadily  to 
correct  existing  evils  and  to  establish  better  sys- 
tems. We  are  familiar  with  what  has  been  done 
and  desire  to  say  with  all  possible  emphasis  that 
under  existing  circumstances  progress  has  not 
been  slow.  We  have  been  compelled  to  work 
for  the  uprooting  of  systems  and  wrongs  which 
have  been  gradually  maturing  for  fifty  years, 
and  which  are  to-day  backed  by  some  of  the 
strongest  men  in  the  country,  in  many  cases  by 
an  utter  lack  of  conscience  and  by  millions  oi 
capital. 

We  cannot  reform  such  evils  in  a  day  or  year, 
or  a  dozen  years,  but  we  have  made  an  advance 
wherever  we  have  made  an  attack.  We  have  es- 
tablished the  principle  that  the  state  can  regu- 
late the  rates  of  railroad  companies ;  we  have 
arrived  at  a  period  when  even  congress  steps 
forward  to  regulate  inter-state  transportation ; 
we  have  secured  legislation  to  prevent  the  utter- 
ly reckless  sale  of  adulterated  farm  products ; 
we  have  forever  put  a  stop  to  the  further  giving 
of  the  public  lands  to  corporations ;  we  have 
seen  political  parties  getting  down  upon  their 
knees  to  the  farmer:-— whom  tbey  once  ignored— 
and  begging  for  their  influence  and  s'-pport,  and 
we  see  to-day  several  legislatures  in  the  hands  oi 
the  farmers,  and  we  behold  a  farmer's  move- 
ment that  really  threatens  the  distraction  of  all 
political  parties  unless  the  farmer  receives  such 
attention,  by  the  government,  as  his  interests 
demand.  If  that  is  not  a  wonderful  change  in 
affairs  in  the  short  period  of  fifteen  years,  we 
are  at  a  loss  to  conceive  what  more  could  be  ex- 
pected in  that  time.  Of  course  much  of  vital 
importance  is  yet  to  be  accomplished,  and  will 
be  accomplished. 

Our  circulating  medium  has  never  yet  been 
properly  regulated  by  our  government.  Tha 
time  has  come  when  the  farmer  shall  be  emanci 


53i 

PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 

pated  from  the  tyranny  and  imposition  of  the  until  a  mighty  nation  under  the  star  spangled 

money  shark,  whom  our  financial  policy  has  di-  banner   shall  rule  the  world  with  a  beneficent 

rectly  encouraged.    Any  financial  system  which  and  christian  impulse. 

^^y^&eJX^iOTlS  Nati0*al  Lecturer  A***  then  briefly 

justice  and  a  fraud.    Any  system  that  places  the  addressed  the  convention   after  which   it 

power  to  increase  or  diminish  the  circulating  adioured  till  9:00  a.  m.  Wednesday 

medium,  and  to  charge  extortionate  interests  on  .„m™  -^  .  v M„„wmf.  •  n^&^U- 

loans,  in  private  hands,  is  a  stupid  blunder  on  .-SECOND  DAY— MORNING  SESSION. 

the  part  of  government,  and  a  great  wrong  upon  President  Powers    in    the  chair.     Ses- 

the  masses.           ,.'.£,*,         c  „       .    ,    *  sion  opened  by  prayer.     Minutes  of  yes- 

JfeSISSSSiMihS^xS}!  Tshoull  ^rday's  convention  „ead  and  approved. 

issue  the  m one v  direct  instead  of  indirectlv,  as  A  rule  was  adopted  limiting   debate  to 

it  now  does,  and  should  devise  some  method  by  five  minutes  and   no   delegate    to    speak 

which  the  people  could  borrow  at  a  reasonable     _„_„„    +u„„    ™™ „,  „    ~    „  +.• 

interest.    The  Alliance,  however,  can  bestow  no  mo™    than   once    on    any    one  question 

greater  blessing  upon  the  farmer  than  to  discour-  without  consent  of  convention. 

age  the  credit  system  and  by  aiding  him  to  get  A  vote  of   thanks    was    given   Messrs. 

upon  the  soud  rock  of  prosperity  bv  making  his     rr<«ii +    r\ . ^  a    ^^ e      j-u       11        1 

purchases  on  a  cash  basis  and  keeping  out  of  Talbot,  George  and  Ashby  for  the  able  ad- 
debt,  dresses  delivered  by  them  at  last  night's 

It  will  be  an  unpardonable  crime  against  man-  session. 

kind— and  the  sooner  we  re-dize  it  the  better— if         -.,      ™    ^    a    •n,„„,„        .  .,       a  , »   tt 

the  American  people,  with  all  their  splendid  op-  ^r-  &•  m-  b-  J^agie,    Ot  the    hrm  01   H. 

portunities  and  varied  resources,   fail  to  lift  R.  Eagle  &  Co.,   wholesale  supply  house, 

themselves  and  the  race  to  the  highest  point  of  Chicago,    Illinois,    was    then    introduced 

material •     '           *'            *'  physiCiilly  and  and  addressed  the   convention   upon  the 

Our  citizenship  is  of  sterling  worth,  composed  benefits  of  co-operative  and  direct  buying. 

of  some  of  the  best. minds  and  hearts  of  all  na-  The  remainder  of  the  session  was  then 

tions.     The   experience   and  the  ability  of  the  „„„„„j„j   w„    v.™-,-    ~    *i                  j.      *    *i  „ 

world  is  represented  beneath  our  flag,  and  should  occupied  by   hearing   the  report   of   the 

amalgamate  to  the  end  that  liberty  shall  be  com-  Committee  on  Constitution  and  the  adop- 

plete  and  justice  established  among  men.  Under  tion  of   the   Constitution.      (The  Consti- 

a  system  of  government  like  ours  the  importance  ±    .,.•                j      4.  A    ■          ui-uj" 

of  the  individual  is  emphasized.  tutlon  as  adopted  is  published   in  separ- 

When  the  hearts,  minds  and   aspirations  of  ate  pamphlets  and  will  be  sent  free  to  all 

every  individual  are  right,  society  will  be  insured  applicants) 

against  danger  and  there  will  be  no  couflicts  be  ■D»„,,{/i„_i  otnimAii    ^f+i^xr>    tit    -»     a 

tween  class  and  c'ass.    In  some  quarters  there  is  rresiaent  otnnven,  01  tne  a  .  ivi.  a.  &.., 

a  disposition  to  sink  the  individual  out  of  sight  then    addressed   the    convention   urging 

and  make -society  paramount.    It  will  not  work,  co-operation   between  the  two   organiza- 

(ommunism   has  never  proved  a  success,  and  +,•.„„       tj„     ,„„    ,  „„„„    j„j    +„    1™    -o„n„\ 

uever  will  unless  human  nature  itself  is  radical-  llonS-     lie  was    lesponciea   to    Dy    rresi- 

ly  changed.  dent    Powers     promising   a   hearty   and 

Civilization  will  never  enter  into  the  splendors  brotherly  co-operation  on  the  part  of  the 

of  Bellamy  s  Utopia,  hut  the  selfishness  of  the  Au\anca 

human  heart  may  be  trained  to  realize  the  truth  Alliance, 

that  there  is  more  happiness  and  more  prosperi-  Adjourned  till  1:30  p.  m. 

ly  in  the  observance  than  in  the  violation  of  the  AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

nolden  rule,    Many  reforms  have  utterlv  failed         r> „i«»„    *  r>~    \.     t       +k«    „\  „,•„      mt,. 

because,   while  they  possess  a  high  degree  of  President  Powers   in   the   chair.     The 

merit,  they  were  under  the  management  of  vis-  first  business  of  the  session   was  the    ap- 

ioimry  leaders.    We  must  take  this  practical  old  pointment  of  a  committee  of   five  to  COn- 

world  of  ours  just  as  we  find  it;  we  must  take  f       witVl    iha    rnmmHtPP    nf  thA  IT    M    Tt 

man  as  we  find  him,  with  all  his  selfishness  and  *er  wltn,  ™e   committee   01  the  1< .  M.  ±$. 

with  the  lingering  spirit  that  led  the  poet  to  ex-  A.,    as   follows:    C.    fe.    Bradley,    A.    R. 

claim  that  "the  greatest  enemy  of  man  is  man."  Wright,  J.  H.  Mason,  A.  E.  Brunson  and 

We  must  take  him  with  his  weak  points  and  evil  -pv    pi    r>    uf>11„ 

inclinations  and  seek  to  develop  the  better  part  *  '  "<*ve"f- 

of  his  nature  by  systems  of  education  on  more  The     Auditing    Committee    reported: 

practical  lines  in  the  training  of  our  youth.  We,  your  committee  appointed  to  audit 

Man  is  now  an  improvement  upon  the  man  of  t\..    m  *  __,,___'„    „„„«,,,,*,,    \,nrr    i„„-,,«    +^, 

the  past.    He  is  the  product  of  a  steady  evolu-  the   Treasurers   accounts,  beg   leave   to 

tion  and  of  the  influences  of  a  christian  civiliza-  report  that  we  have   carefully  examined 

tion  which  itself  is  the  condition  of  growth.    He  the  same  and  find  them  correct, 

may  never  be,  and  consequently   society  may  .                           ,  _,       „   ,_„„                     »  ,.,,  -,, 

never  be  what  we  would  wish,  but  both  may  be  £mo,,mt  °?  hi\?d  ^ec.  6,  1889 ......    .9  1 34.59 

improved,  and  both  will  be  if  each  of  us  is  true  Tolal  receipts  for  the  year  to  Jan.  24, 1891.  1804.10 

to  the  clear  demands  of  duty.    The  wise  will  ex-  „ 

pect  no  millenium,  no  condition  of  perfection,     _  -Total ... !M4~».b9 

in  ideol  state  of  society,  but  in  this  nineteenth     Total  expenses  for  same  period- -  1804.91 

century  and  in  this  American  nation,  with  its  _  ,               ,       .                                       '    „,.„  _„ 

magnificent  civilization,  and  with  the  splendid  Balance  on  han  d       ............... .»  S2d.7S 

history  of  its  sacrifices  for  the  establishment  of  Received  since  Jan.  24  to  Jan.  28,  1891—-    2S5.wO 

the  principles  of  equality  of  rights  and  equality  _■    .       .  ._              nD  tont                          „„.  ~ 

of  responsibilities,  there  ought  to  be  and  must        On  hand  January  28,  1891.. &>09.SS 

be  a  full  acknowledgement   of   the   universal  Allen  Root,    | 

brotherhood  of  man,  with  all  its  glorious  possi-  J- g.  Mason,     VCommittee. 

bilities,  for  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  J-  "•  fueeow,  )             - 

human  race.  On  motion  report  was  approved. 

Let  the  work  of  organization  go  on  and  let  con-  Cnmmittpo    nn    rp<jnlntinnci     mado    th« 

servative  measures  of  reform  be  radically  prose-  committee    on    resolutions     maae   tne 

cuted  in  the  name  of  God,  home  and  country,  following  report  which  was  adopted: 


532 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 


Whebeas,  The  farmers  of  the  United  States 
are  most  in  number  of  any  order  of  citizens, 
and  with  other  productive  classes  have  freely 
given  of  their  blood  to  found  and  maintain  the 
nation; 

Whebeas,  Experience  has  taught  us  that  in 
the  great  plain  people  is  our  country's  sure  hope 
in  the  time  of  need,  and  that  salvation  from 
peril  must  be  wrought  out  by  their  loyal  faith 
and  willing  sacrifices ; 

Whereas,  This  government  is  our  government, 
and  any  existing  administration  is  our  adminis- 
tration, regardless  of  the  political  party  that 
placed  it  in  power; 

Whereas;  We  recognize  in  these  troubled 
times  the  need  of  appealing  to  the  higher  na- 
ture of  man,  that  tliey  may  seal  anew  their  be- 
lief in  the  holiness  of  self-sacrifice  and  the 
meanness  of  greed,  and  thus  be  ready  to  give 
just  condemnation  to  whomsoever  makes  sel- 
flflh  Spoil  of  the  substance  of  the  people,  whether 
It  be  Great  Capitalist  or  Industrial  Corporations; 

Whereas,  Many  reforms  are  needed,  and  we 
ask  for  legislation  and  enforcement  of  law  to 
bring  them  about,  and  we  demand  the  passage 
of  these  measures,  not  in  the  name  of  any  party, 
but  in  the  name  of  justice,  in  the  name  of  the 
people ; 

Resolved,  That  the  productive  classes  should 
have  no  interest  in  the  factional  wars  that  are 
waged  for  place  alone,  by  professional  parti- 
sans, whilejrighteous  reforms  languish  for  lack 
of  unity  among  honorable  and  patriotic  men. 
■  Resolved,  That  we  demand  that  the  Inter- 
State  Commerce  law  be  so  amendtd  and  en- 
forced, that  by  the  aid  of  the  commerce  laws  of 
each  state,  enacted  or  shall  be  enacted,  as  sup- 
plementary  thereto  and  In  harmony  with  the 
general  law,  that  the  people  shall  be  served  so 
|  liberally  that  the  income  on  railroads  shall  not 
exceed  a  reasonable  per  cent,  of  profit  upon  the 
:  actual  capital  invested  therein.  The  value  to  be 
'  fixed  by  an  annual  appraisment  of  the  same. 
:  We  also  demand  that  the  rights  of  the  people 
shall  be  enforced  by  the  government  by  fore- 
closure upon  its  claim  against  the  Union  Pacific 
and  Central  Pacific  Railroad  Companies,  and 
that  the  same  be  operated  in  the  interests  of  the 
people,  and  that  the  government  extend  the  sys- 
tem to  the  eastern  seaboard,  with  the  ultimate 
end  in  view  of  government  ownership  of  all  the 
railroads  in  the  Nation.  The  telegraph  should 
be  owned  by  the  government  and  become  a  part 
of  the  postal  system. 

Resolved,  That  we  demand  the  free  and  unlim- 
ited coinage  of  silver  on  an  equality  with  gold, 
and  that  the  government  shall  fesue  all  money 
whether  it  be  gold,  eilveror  notes,  and  that  the 
volume  of  money  now  in  circulation  shall  be  in- 
creased to  fifty  dollars  per  capita  and  main- 
tained there. 

Resolved,  That  believing  that  it  has  been  es- 
tablished that  the  average  annual  incree.ee  of 
wealth  of  the  Nation  is  not  above  three  and  one- 
half  per  cent,  therefore  we  believe  that  the  rate 
of  interest  in  the  various  states  should  not  ex- 
ceed the  earning  capacity  of  the  land  in  the 
state. 

Resolved,  That  we  favor  the  immediate  pas- 
sage by  the  United  States  Senate  of  the  bill  as 
passed  by  the  House  of  Representatives  known 
as  the  Conger  Pure  Lard  Bill. 
.  Resolved,  That  we  favor  the  passage  of  the 
Butterworth  Anti-Option  Bill. 

R  solved,  That  the  state  laws  relating  to  the 
manufacture  and  sale  of  so-called  bogus  butter 
be  so  amended  that  all  persons  who  use  the  same 
shall  be  compelled  to  post  notices  of  the  fact  of 
such  use,  to  protect  actual  consumers  as  well  as 
producers. 

Rtolvsd,  That"  we  believe  that  under  our  finan- 
cial and  revenue  systems  small  property  holders 
pay  an  undue  share  of  taxation,  and  we  ask  that 
all  bonds,  mortgages  and  incomes  shall  be  taxed 
and  that  ell  property  shall  be  tared  at  its  real 


cash  value,  but  that  all  real  estate  and  chattels 
shall  be  released  to  the  extent  of  mortgages  up- 
on them,  and  we  pledge  ourstlves  to  work  in  our 
own  respective  states  to  accomplish  this  much 
needed  reform. 

Rtso  vtd,  That  we  demand  tb.at  the  Senators 
of  the  United  States  be  elected  by  a  direcc  roto 
of  the  people. 

Resolved,  That  for  the  protection  of  the  gov- 
ernment, W9  believe  in  such  a  qualified  fran- 
chise as  shall  exclude  paupers  and  criminals, 
and  that  we  demand  such  legislation  in  regard 
to  the  liquor  traffic  as  will  prevent  that  business 
from  increasing  our  taxes,  endangering  the 
morals  of  our  children  and  destroying  the  use- 
fulness of  our  citizens. 

Resolved,  That  we  favor  the  reform  in  the 
mode  of  balloting  known  as  the  Australian 
system. 

Resolved,  That  we  believe  that  women  have 
the  same  inherent  right  as  their  husbands  to  the 
property  acQuired  during  married  life,  and  we 
favor  such  state  laws  as  will  give  her  these  rights 
end  the-  equally  inherent  and  consequent  right 
to  the  ballot. 

Resolved.  ^That  we  Relieve  in  so  amending  the 
public  school  system  that  the  education  of  our 
children  shall  be  a  practical  help  to  them  in 
after  life.  The  theoretical  plan  that  now  obtains 
infects  many  with  the  idea  that  physical  labor  is 
not  genteel.  This  sentiment  tends  to  create  a 
helpless  class  whose  inevitable  drift  is  towards 
an  almshouse  and  prison.  Our  country  needs 
an  educational  system  based  on  moral,  manual 
and  intellectual  training  that  inculcates  the  eB- 
sential  dgnity  and  necessity  of  honest  labor. 

Resolved,  That  we  recommend  that  all  farm- 
ers' orgonizations  give  their  moral  support  to 
the  legislature  of  the  state  of  Illinois  and  other 
states  to  the  extent  that  such  laws  be  enacted  to 
protect  commerce  transacted  through  the  Union 
and  other  stock  yards  and  elevators  of  the  cities. 
That  the  expenses  to  the  producers  imposed  by 
those  great  corporations  are  extortionate  and 
entirely  out  of  proportion  to  the  services  ren- 
dered. 

Resolved,  That  the  agricultural  colleges  mu- 
nificently endowed  by  government  and  dedicated 
to  the  purposes  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts  should  be  held  faithfully  to  the  conditions 
of  the  grant,  and  as  they  have  in  many  cases 
been  diverted  we  demand  that  they  be  restored, 
and  held  to  the  high  purpose  of  their  creatioa, 
in  ministering  to  and  ennobling  industry. 

Resolved,  That  we  sympathize  with  the  just 
demand  for  labor  of  every  class,  and  recognize 
that  many  of  the  evils  from  which  the  farming 
community  suffers  oppress  universal  labor,  and 
that,  therefore,  producers  should  unite  in  a  de- 
mand for  the  reform  of  unjust  systems  and  the 
repeal  of  laws  that  bear  unequally  upon  the 
people. 

Resolved,  Th^t  the  working  classes  of  this 
country  forma  great  conservative  and  conserv- 
ing element  whose  power  must  stand  between 
the  nation  and  the  dangers  which  now  threaten 
its  future  WQll-being  which  come  from  the  un- 
restrained greed  of  the  influential  monopolist 
who  defies  laws  and  tramples  upon  principles 
of  justice  in  his  method  of  acquiring  the  wealth 
that  others  create,  and  the  less  influential,  less 
successful,  but  more  demonstrative  rabble  who 
practice  violence. 

Resolved,  That  we  favor  a  liberal  system  of 
pensions  for  the  soldiers  of  the  late  war. 

Resolved,  That  the  President  end  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  tbe  United  States  should  be  elected  by  a 
direct  vote  of  the  people. 

Resolved,  That  we  believe  that  in  the  system 
of  national,  state  and  municipal  taxation;  taxes 
should  be  so  levied  that  the  burdens  of  payment 
will  be  equally  and  justly  distributed  upon  all 
classes. 

Resolved,  That  the  tiller  of  the  soil  should  be 
the  owner  thereof,  and  to  that  end  we  demand 


PBOCEBDIN&a  OP  THE  NATIONAL  FARMEBS^  AIAIA&CB. 


533 


that  the  laws  be  so  amended  that  no  non-resident 
alien  be  permitted  to  own  any  land  in  the  United 
States,  and  that  corporations  be  not  permitted  to 
own  any  more  land  than  shall  be  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  transaction  of  the  business  of 
snch  corporation  ether  than  farming,  and  that 
proper  laws  be  enacted  limiting  the  quantity  of 
land  that  any  person  may  own,  to  some  reason- 
able amount. 

1'esolved,  As  the  bonds  of  the  government  de- 
pend for  their  value  on  the  land  of  the  nation, 
tilled  by  the  farmess,  therefore  the  owners  of 
the  lands,  pledging  their  own  security,  should 
have  eauaf  rights  with  the  bankers  and  other 
classes  to  borrow  money  from  the  government, 
and  we  demand  that  the  government  do  issue 
money  as  above,  which  shall  be  full  legal  tender. 
We  also  demand  thftt  this  money  shall  be  loaned 
direct  to  individuals,  on  real  estate,  at  a  rate  of 
interest  not  to  exceed  two  per  cent.,  and  we 
would  limit  these  leans  to  three  thousand  dollars 
to  any  cue  individual,  and  would  exclude  all 
corporate  companies  from  borrowing  such 
money.  That  this  money  shall  be  divided  among 
the  states  according  to  the  population,  and  then 
ainong  the  counties  and  townships  upon  tha 
same  plan. 

Eesolved,  Whereas  the  farmers  on  the  Pacific 
coast  rnnst  necessarily  sack  their  grains,  and 
whereas  this  mates  a  great  and  heavy  cost  to  the 
producers,  therefore  be  it 

Itesolsed,  That  we,  as  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance,  now  in  session,  a^k  that  our  representa- 
tives now  in  session  in  Washington,  be  urged 
to  pass  a  law  permitting  the  material  used  in 
making  these  sacks  to  come  into  the  United 
States  free  of  duty. 

The  committee  appointed  to  confer 
with  F.  M.  E.  A.  brethren,  was  instruct- 
ed to  also  confer  with  brother  Terrell. 

Committee  on  secret  work  then  made 
the  following  report: 

The  committee  on  secret  work  beg  leave  to 
submit  the  following  report:  That  we  recom- 
mend the  adoption  by  the  National  Alliance  in 
the  different  states,  of  the  ritual  and  unwritten 
work  of  the  Farmers'  Alliauce  of  the  state  of 
Nebraska,  with  the  suggestion  that  its  adoption 
by  the  subordinate  Alliances  be  left  optional 
with  them.  And  that  we  further  recommend 
that  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance  appoint  a 
committee  on  secret  work  to  confer  with  other 
similar  committees  from  other  farm  and  labor 
orgrnizalions  01  our  National  Union  with  a  view 
to  the  adoption  of  a  common  code  of  signals 
whereby  all  industrialists  can  secure  fraternal 
recognition. 

A.  C.  Baldwin,  A.  J.  Westfall, 

Secretary.  Chairman. 

Report  of  the  committee  was  on  motion 
adopted.     Adjourned  til!  8:00  P.  M. 

EVENING  SESSION. 

President  Powers  in  chair.  The  com- 
mittee appointed  to  recommend  a  design 
for  a  pin  reported,  recommending  the 
adoption  by  the  National  Farmers'  Alli- 
ance of  the  pin  of  the  Nebraska  Farmers' 
Alliance. 

On  motion  the  report  was  adopted. 

Miss  Eva  McDonald,  Lecturer  of  the 
Minnoscta  Farmers'  Alliance,  then  ad- 
dressed the  convention  as  follows: 

MB.  CHAIRMAN  AND  DELEGATES  TO  NATIONAL 

Farmers'  Alliance:— In  our  discussion  as  to 
whit  work  may  properly  be  done  by  the  Parmer's 
Alliance,  It  may  be  well  to  review  the  basis  upon 
which,  we  are  organize!  and  the  reason  why  we 
push  certain  lines  of  work  that  are  out  Utile  under- 


stood by  the  outside  public.  If  we  can  show  that 
we  have  valid  reasons  for  organizing  and  that  our 
aim  is  to  correct  existing  evils  by  Intelligent 
means,  then  much  of  the  existing  prejudice  will  ha 
removed. 

We  must  remember  that  the  Partners'  Alliance  ie 
b;it  one  branch  of  the  great  Icdustrial  aimytast 
exists  in  every  state  In  the  Union.  It  matters  not 
whether  the  laborer  is  a  wording  m;nia  the  city  or 
a  farmer  in  the  country,  there  are  eert.im  broad 
lines  upon  which  all  agree  and  certain  ©bjfews 
which  all  are  equally  aiuigas  to  a  tain.  The 
Farmers'  Alliance  is  one  of  the  great  organizations 
or  the  producers  and  consumers  :*s  opposed  to  that 
class  wnieh  proauce  nothing  of  utility  to  humanity. 
We  believe  that  we  are  jutttincd  in  esklng  for  cer- 
tain reforms.  We  believe  that  our  present  sj  stem 
cf  government  is  the  best  and  most  progressive 
ever  known  In  the  history  of  civi'ization.  fat  as 
believers  In  the  theory  of  evolution  we  bolievs 
Improvement  possible,  and  as  a  most  Important 
element  of  the  population  wa  behove  a  fcett«r  con- 
dition will  ODly  come  by  a  persistent  and  Intelli- 
gent agitation  of  the  reforms  In  which  the  masses 
are  most  concerned. 

We  start  upon  the  basis  acknowledged  by  all 
political  economists,  that  land  and  labor  are  the 
two  prime  factors  In  the  production  of  wealth.  We 
believe  It  a  self-eviderit  proposiiiun  t'aat  labor 
creates  all  wealth,  and  to  the  laborer  belongs  the 
wealth  which  hi  produces.  Of  course  we  include 
mental  as  well  as  manna]  labor  so  long  as  a  person 
pro-luces  something  of  utility.  Now,  we,  as  an 
Alliance  organization,  desire  to  find  out  why  it  Is 
that  those  who  perform  the  ni03t  useful  labor  by 
no  means  receive  the  full  result  of  that  labor.  Our 
industrial  system  allocs  the  establishment  oi  a 
claims  of  non-prod-jfexs  who  get  control  of  valuable 
natural  resources  and  are  able  to  continually  levy 
a  tax  on  tnose  doing  productive  labor.  For  in- 
stance, those  who  own  the  r  oal  regions,  oil  wells. 
pine  forests,  mines  and  similar  valuable  natural 
resources  are  easily  able  to  get  control  of  railroads, 
markets,  finance,  and  even  the  law  making  powe  a. 

In  accounting  for  present  conditions  it  must  be 
remembered  that  in  the  last  half  century  there 
has  been  a  to:  al  revolution  In  the  methods  of  Co- 
ing  work  on  the  farm.  Machinery  has  taken  the 
place  of  hand  labor.  The  productiveness  of  the 
larm-.-rs'  labor  has  been  wonderfully  increased. 
The  farm  Is  no  longer  a  small  kingdom"  where  all 
was  produced  and  manufactured  that  was  neces- 
sary for  existence.  The  farmer  raises  an  immense 
crop  of  grain,  or  perhaps  makes  a  specialty  of 
stock  raiding.  He  must  send  the  prodv  cts  of  the 
farm  to  some  great  central  market  and  exchange 
thorn  for  articles  manufactured  by  laborers  In  the 
cities.  We  have  thus  a  great  class  of  middlemen, 
who  stand  between  producers  and  corsumers.  In 
this  peculiar  phase  of  modern  civilization  lies  the 
germ  of  many  evils  of  which  we  complain.  Now, 
we  have  no  personal  feeling  against  the  middle- 
men. We  regard  the  pauper  and  the  millionaire 
equally  as  products  of  our  system.  It  Is  the  sys- 
tem, and  not  the  people  in  it  of  whom  we  complain. 

Capital  has  been  quick  to  see  the  advantage  of 
organizing  companies  which  may  control  the  carry- 
ing and  disposal  of  the  farmers'  products.  The 
wheat  rings,  beef  trusts  and  dairy  combines  are  all 
the  result  of  the  system  which  makes  the  farmer 
dependent  upon  other  clashes  lor  the  remuneration 
for  his  labor. 

No  man  to-dav  can  take  up  a  section  of  land  and 
make  a  living  without  having  some  capital  to  buy 
machinery  and  wait  until  a  return  is  made  for  his 
crops.  If  he  has  no  capital  he  must  put  a  mort- 
gage on  his  land.  The  mortgage  has  become  so 
common  a  feature  of  the  farmers'  life  that  it  no 
longer  attracts  attention.  It  is  related  that  a  trav- 
eler in  Nebraska  last  summer  remarked  to  a  farm- 
er: "The  cyclone  don't  seem  to  do  much  damage  to 
the  farms  'No,"  resplied  the  farmer  weurily, 
"the  mortgages  are  so  heavy  that  a  cyclone  could 
not  lift  them." 

The  farmers  are  the  only  class  that  have  no  voice 
In  fixing  the  price  of  their  produet3.  Thq  prices  of 
farm  products  are  fixed  in  Chicago,  New  York, 
Liverpool  and  other  great  commercial  centers  of 
the  world.  The  farmer  finds  that  after  accepting 
their  price  for  his  products,  after  paying  railroad 
charges  and  the  Interest  on  his  mortgage,  there  la 
very  ljttlo  left  to  obtain  the  necessities  or  comforts 


534 


PEOOEEBJQB(9£NOF*H^JfATIONAL^^EMEEST^X3^UNCE. 


of  Civlliz'atlOn  tot  his  family.  In  fact  the  national 
census  reports  shows  that  the  average  farmer  re  • 
celves,  over  and  above  the  cost  of  tbe  manage- 
ment, the  princely  sum  of  $310  a  year,  or  less  than 
$!  a  day.  We  may  perhaps  Imagine  how  much  of 
this  Income  can  be  spent  in  educating  his  child  en 
or  supplying  his  home  with  ihose  thiugs  that  make 
home  attractive. 

In  consequence  of  the  poverty  and  b*rencs;  of 
many  homes,  the  children  are  continually  leaving 
the  farm  and  adding  to  the  masses  aiready  strug- 
gling for  existenceJn  the  cities.  We  are  personally 
Interested  In  the  deplorable  condition  surrounding 
the  labor  of  women  and  children  because  their 
ranks  are  recruited  from  the  fa*m.  Several  years 
ago,  as  correspondent  of  the  St.  PauJ  Globe,  1  in- 
vestigated the  condition  under  wbich  women  work 
In  cities,  and  did  the  farmers  thoroughly  under- 
stand this  condition,  I  am  su;  e  tfctcy  would  be  anx- 
ious to  keep  at  least  the  daughters  at  home.  But 
if  the  farmer  only  earns  on  average  of  $1>l0  o  year, 
on  the  other  hand  we  have  a  list  of  thirty-flvo 
millionaires,  whose  accumulations  vary  from  $125,- 
000.000  to  $35,000,000  each ;  250,000  people  own  three- 
fifths  of  the  wealth  of  the  entire  country;  the 
farmers  and  the  balance  of  the  p  •'pulatlon  own  the 
other  two-flfths.  We  find,  also,  that  the  manufac- 
turers of  this  country  in  the  last  thirty  years  have 
made  an  extra  profit  of  $^4,000,000,000,  or  about  37 
per  cent,  on  their  invested  capital. 

Now,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  these  state- 
ments are  true,  and  many  other  facts  could  be 
Cited.  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  farming 
population  are  worse  off  and  get  mu<h  less  tor 
their  labor  than  they  really  earn.  Even  those 
most  opposed  to  the  Alliance  do  not  question  but 
that  there  is  "Something  rotten  in  the  state  of 
Denmark."  When  we  discuss  remedies,  then  cornea 
the  difference  of  opinion. 

There  are  various  classes  of  phiianthropls*,  and 
Idealists  who  are  sympathetic  and  well  meaning, 
but.  they  fall  to  offer  adequate  remedies.  Among 
the  solutions  suggested  by  such  people  are  temper- 
ance, economy  and  christian  resignation.  No 
jaoubt  their  virtues  are  c  jmmendable  as  a  matter 
6f  personal  conduct,  but  the  fact  remains  that 
these  partial  remedies  have  been  tried  for  centu- 
ries and  have  never  yet  effected  industrial  reform. 
We  see  that  capital  finds  a  most  effective  adjunct 
In  thorough  organization.  While  ^e  dislike  the 
effects  of  trusts,  yet  the  trust  has  not  been 
created  in  vain.  It  has  taught  the  masses  a  valua- 
ble lesson.  It  has  paved  the  way  tor  those  vast 
federated  organizations  of  laborers  which  are  now 
trying  to  solve  the  problems  presented  by  the 
modern  Sphynx. 

There  is  one  remedy  always  proposed  to  the  dls 
contented— that  is  the  ballot  Now  the  privilege 
pf  the  ballot  Is  two-edged.  If  wrongly  or  careless- 
ly used  it  may  serve  only  to  Injure  those  holding 
much  power  A  popular  cartoon  circulated  daring 
the  last  campaign  illustrated  the  us u  1  political 
Situation  of  a  farmer.  The  cut  showed  a  farmer 
down  on  his  hands  and  knees  with  a  see-saw  plank 
balanoed  on  his  broad  back.  On  one  end  of  the 
plank  sat  Harrison,  preaching  high  tariff,  at  the 
other  end  sat  Grover  Cleveland  spouting  free 
trade  But  it  did  not  make  any  difference  which 
went  up  or  down,  tbe  farmer  bore  the  burden  jut, t 
the  same,  and  he  will  continue  to  bear  it  forever 
more  unless  some  day  the  farmer  should  take  a 
not»on  to  stand  erect,  as  the  Creator  intended  he 
should.  Then  only  will  he  secure  his  political, 
social  and  industrial  rights. 

In  order  that  the  ballot  may  be  used  intelligently, 
organization  is  the  first  necessity.  Without  a 
unity  of  industrial  Interests  the  farm'ng  Interests 
are  never  represented  In  tbe  naUonal  halls  of  leg- 
islation. In  the  last  United  States  senate  there 
were  sixty-nine  lawyers,  also  merchants,  bankers, 
speculators,  railrad  magnates,  and  retired  million- 
aires. There  was  ,one  lone  farmer,  and  he  was  a 
banker  as  well  ov  he  probably  would  not  have 
been  there  In  the  house  of  representatives  there 
were  two  hundred  and  thirty- one  lawyers,  twenty- 
eight  merchants,  fifty-two  bankers  and  only  thir- 
teen farmers.  According  to  the  census  of  1880  that 
gave  one  member  of  congress  for  every  two  hun- 
dred and  thirteen  lawyers,  to  the  farmers  one 
jfeembsf  of  congress  for  every  five  hundred  and 
HTnely  'KrongaP-S  #Gt§rs,   or,  in  ether  words,'  the 


lawyers  had  twenty -nine  hundred  times  as  much 
representation  as  the  farmers. 

How,  I  Lave  no  saecial  prejudice  against  lawyers 
as  individuals.  I  havo  occasionally  seen  a  lawyer 
th^t  w;ia  ps  honest  as  a  f-rmer,  but  It  is  only  nat- 
ural t_at  lawyers,  bunkers  and  speculators  should 
legislate  in  their  own  interests  rather  than  that  of 
the  industii  .1  classe?.  If  the  farmers  are  guileless 
enough  to  let  oiher  classes  legislate  for  them  they 
should  not  complain  at  the  results.  Political  as 
well  as  industrial  organization  s  has  become  a 
necessity.  Thetv.o  k  nds  of  organization  should 
not  ba  confused.  The  political  union  may  take  In 
every  citizen  who  does  productive  labor  whether 
he  lea  book-keeper  or  a  farmer.  The  political 
movement  is  not  a  class  movement  except  that  It 
may  be  styled  a  campaign  of  the  produce)  s  against 
the  non-p:oducers.  Every  honest,  intelligent  citi- 
zen ca  i  be  and  ought  to  be  In  the  Independent 
political  movement.  It  will  include  the  workers  of 
tbe  city  rs  well  as  these  of  the  agricultural  dis- 
tricts. There  are  certain  political  ref'  rms  upon 
wh.ch  all  producing  classes  agree.  Thes9  have 
been  formulated  In  the  report  of  your  committee 
this  afternoon.  They  include  briefly  reforms  In 
land,  transportation  and  finance.  Solve  these 
three  problems  and  the  minor  details  will  arrange 
themselves. 

to  far  as  Industrial  organization  Is  concerned,  It 
13  no  lees  important  than  the  political  feature. 
The  working  people  of  the  cities  can  keep  their 
Industrial  autonomy  and  the  Farmers'  Alliance 
likewise,  even  when  co-operating  politically.  The 
industrial  Idea  of  organization  Is  the  educating 
force  which  prepares  people  for  political  action 
later,  it  is  the  force  wh  ch  keeps  up  a  healthy 
agitation  on  important  topics,  brings  people 
closer  together  and  dissipates  carrow  prejudice 
bigotry.  Tho  Alliance  is  now  recognized  as  the 
great  educational  force  for  the  industrial  masses. 
It  Is  the  farmers'  school  of  political  economy.  It 
has  graduated  some  of  the  most  brilliant  statesmen 
of  the  day. 

in  recogn'zlng  the  equality  of  the  sexes  and  in 
the  many  privileges  accorded  women  who  care  to 
take  up  this  woik,  the  Alliance  stretches  out  a 
helping  hand  to  those  who  are  working  for  the 
sisterhood  of  women  along  with  brotherhood  of 
man. 

There  Is  no  doubt  but  that  the  Alliance  has 
made  mistakes  and  will  make  mistakes  In  the 
future.  It  1b  essentially  a  human  organization, 
but  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  good  it  has 
accomplished.  We  cannot  doubt  but  it  will  clear 
the  way  for  other  reforms.  We  are  approaching 
an  Industrial  crisis,  and  whether  we  emerge  from 
It  safely  depends  upon  the  conservatism  of  the 
masses  The  future  looks  hopefu!  to  us,  and  we  be 
lieve  with  thu,t  poet  of  the  people  when  he  says: 
'For  round  and  round  we  run, 

And  ever  the  right  comes  uppermost  and  ever  Is 
justice  done." 

A  vote  of  thanks  was  given  Miss  Mc- 
Donald, for  her  able  exposition  of  Al- 
liance principles  : 

Adjourned  till  9  a.  ra.  Thursday. 

THIRD  DAY — MOHNING   SESSION. 

President  Powers  in  chair;  Session 
opened  by  prayer.  Minutes  of  yester- 
day's meeting  read  and  approved.  The 
first  business  of  the  session  was  the  elec- 
tion of  officers  which  resulted  as  follows  : 

President — Hon.  J.  H.  Powers,  Cor- 
nell, Nebr.;  Vice-Presidents — W.  A. 
Jones,  Hastings,  Neb.;  Thomas  Sphinx, 
Wheelock,  Pennsylvania;  Chas.  Morgan, 
Hornby,  Pennsylvania;  W.  H.  Likins, 
Caledonia,  Ohio;  Wm.  Kinerk,  Ft. 
Wayne,  Indiana;  Col.  C.  F.  Butt,  Viro- 
qua,  Wisconsin;  Hon.  J.  J.  Furlong, 
Austin,  Minnesota;  D.  F.  Eavens,  St. 
John,  Washington;   A.  J.  Westfall,    Ser- 


535 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  FAKMEES'  ALLIANCE. 


geant  Bluff,  Iowa;  Milton  George,  Chi- 
cago, Illinois;  B.  O.  Cowan,  New  Point, 
Missouri.  Seceetaky  and  Treasurer 
— August  Post.  Moulton,  Iowa.  Lec- 
turer—G.E.  Lawrence,  Marion,  Ohio. 
Assistant  Lecturers — D.  F.  Ravens, 
St.  John,  Washington;  Miss  Eva  Mc- 
Donald, 70  E.  Seventh  St.,  St.  Paul, 
Minnesota.     Auditing  Committee — W. 

E.  Bell,  Marion,  Iowa;  Milton  George, 
158  Clark  St.,  Chicago,  Illinois;  Frank 
Roth,  Tekamah,  Nebraska. 

The  following  resolution  was  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  D.  H.  Talbot,  of  Sioux 
City,  Iowa,  and  on  motion  was  adopted  : 
Be  it  Eesolved,  that  the  President  appoint  an 
educational  board  composed  of  five  members, 
two  of  whom  sh-tll  be  women  and  three  men; 
whose  duty  it  shall  be  from  time  to  time  to 
arrange  matter  for  discussion  which  may  be 
deemed  advisable  to  bring  before  the  several 
Alliances,  anticipating  a  system  similar  to  the 
Chautauqua  plan. 

The  President  then  appointed  the  fol- 
lowing as  members  of  the  Educational 
Board:  Milton  George,  158  Clark  St., 
Chicago,  Illinois;  D.  H.  Talbot,  Sioux 
City,  Iowa ;  J.  Burrows,  Lincoln,  Ne- 
braska ;  Miss  Eva  McDonald,  70  E.  Sev- 
enth St.,  St.  Paul,  Minnesota;  and  Mrs. 
Julia  A.  Pratt,  Clark,  Nebraska. 

By  call  of  states,  Chicago,  Illinois,  was 
fixed  upon  as  the  place  for  holding  the 
next  annual  convention.  Adjourned  till 
1:30  p.  m. 

AFTERNOON  SESSION. 

President  Powers  in  the  chair. 

The  following  were  appointed  the 
Committee  on  uniform  code  of  signals  as 
recommended  by  committee  on  secret 
work,  A.  J.  Westfall,  J.  M.  Thompson 
and  Joshua  Crawford. 

Mr.  Ben  Terrell,  of  the  F.  A.  &  I.  U., 
then  addressed  the  convention  at  length 
explaining  the  Ocala  platform,  after 
which  the  Alliance  went  into  a  commit- 
tee of  the  whole,  with  Joshua  Crawford 
in  the  chair,  to  consider  the  Ocala  plat- 
form of  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance 
and  Industrial  Union.  After  consider- 
able discussion  of  the  same  the  commit- 
tee arose  and  the  Convention  by  motion 
tabled  the  whole  subject.  The  commit- 
tee to  confer   with  the  committee  of  the 

F.  M.  B.  A.,  then  reported  as  follows  : 

Your  committee  of  consultation  with  the  F. 
M.  B.  A.  committee  finding  that  a  plan  of  com- 
plete co-operation  would  be  too  comprehensive 
for  us  to  fully  consider  at  this  time,  owing  to 
the  brief  time  allotted  us  at  this  soss'on,  would 
recommend  that  a  like  committee  of  five  be  ap- 
pointed to  consider  the  basis  of  co-operation 
above  referred  to,  and  to  co-operate  with  a  com- 
mittee of  a  like  number  from  the  F.  M.  B.  A.,  at. 
such  tiD-e  and  place  as  can  be  agreed  upon  by 
said  committee,  and  as  may  best  conduce  to  the 
accomplishment  of  the  common  end  sought  by 
tftese  great  brotherhoods,  and  that  said  commit- 


tee shall  make  their  report  to  the  next  annual 
meeting  of  the  National  Alliance,  with  such 
recommendations  as  they  may  deem  proper. 
Approved  and  agreed  to.  Signed,  John  P. 
Steele,  J.  F.  Claypool,  W.  T.  Sd'lwell,  T.  W. 
Hayncs,  Joseph  Jennings,  Cornmii'ee  F.  M.  B. 
A.  C.  S.  Bradley,  Chairman;  J.  H.  Mason,  Sec- 
retary; D.  F.  Kavens,  A.  E.  Brunson,  A.  R. 
Wright,  Committee  N.  F.  A. 

We  further  recommend  that  the  committee 
embraced  in  the  above  report  be  and  is  hereby 
constituted  a  committee  looking  to  a  like  end 
through  like  conterenee  wHh  a  like  committee 
of  the  "Confederation  of  Industrial  Organiza- 
tions." C.  S.  Bradley,  Chairman ;  J.  II.  Mason, 
Secretary;  A.  E.  Brunson,  A.  R.  Wright,  D.  it'. 
Ravens. 

On  motion  the  report  was  adopted  and 
the  convention  elected  the  following  as 
said  committee:  Milton  George,  J.  H. 
Powers,  August  Post,  A.  J.  Westfall,  C. 
H.  Cobb.  The  following  motion  was 
then  adopted : 

Re*olv,d,  That  having  perfect  confidence  in  the 
integrity  and  ability  of  the  committee  we  recom- 
mend that  this  committee  take  Inimectate  steps  to 
bring  aoout  a  ~air  basis  of  co-operatiou,  ana  we 
p'°dge  this  Alliance  to  stand  by  llie  work  they  do, 
provl  ed  teat  tney  shall  give  their  assent  to  no 
statement  of  principles  not  in  entire  accord  with 
the  adopted  platform  of  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance. 

Mr.  Milton  George  then  presented  the 
following,  which  on  motion  was  adopted: 

ELEVATOR  ACCUMULATIONS. 

Whereas, 'i he  marketing  of  the  grain  products 
of  the  United  states  constitutes  one  of  our  most 
important  indu  tries,  and  is  substantially  the 
greatest  source  of  revenue  to  the  American  agricul- 
turist, merchant  and  manuiaf  turer;  it  is  essential 
and  important  that  it  should  be  surrounded  bv  all 
the  safeguard?  possible  to  secu  e  fair,  honest 
and  judicious  dealings  between  producers,  consum- 
ers and  all  intermediate  agencies;  ond 

Whereas  It  is  known  that  the  infer-stata  com- 
merce law  pa  sed  by  the  congress  of  the  United 
States  in  l'ebruary,  1S87,  had  these  o'-jects  in  view, 
when  it  was  framed  and  passed;  and  that  its  pur- 
Doses  have  been  so  perverted  r  nd  ndsconstrutd  by 
lertain  captious  railroad  officials  and  their  repre- 
sentatives, wtio  occupy  high  positions  in  the  coun- 
cils ox  the  nation,  and  have  so  construed  and  exe- 
cuted the  provisions  of  this  law  as  to  render  it  not 
only  an  absurdity  but  practically  a  dead  letter  upon 
thestatute  books;  and 

Whjireas,  The  alliance  between  the  railroads, 
water  hues  and  public  grain  warehouses  Is  close 
and  inseparable  it  behooves  the  American  people 
in  their  uapsc  ty  as  agriculturists,  merchants  and 
manufacturer-,  as  well  as  tho,t  of  producers  and 
c  nsumers,  to  demand  the  enf  01  cem*-  nt  of  the  Inter- 
state commerce  law.  together  with  such  needed 
amendments  as  will  secure  an  honest,  faithful  ad- 
ministration of  equity  and  justice  to  all  concerned 
as  lies  within  the  power  of  the  government  to  regu- 
la'e  and  control;  tnd 

Whereas,  it  Is  known  thai  the  relntions  between 
the  public  grain  warehouse;',  thai  are  being  used  in 
connection  with  the  transportation  lines  of  th9 
common  carrier  for  the  transportation  and  storage 
of  private  property  is  la  very  maiy  casm  a  dishon- 
est one,  and  are  owned,  controlled  and  operated  by 
the  same  or  kindred  Interests;  and 

Wh::reas,  National  biinki,  public  grain  ware- 
houses and  common  carrier-1  BtanC  upon  an  equal 
plane  as  custodians  of  priv.ite  property:  belt 

R  solved  That  ihey  should  all  be  under  and  sub- 
ject to  the  same  governmental  supervision  and  con- 
trol as  depositories  and  custodians  of  private  prop- 
erty, una  be  '.t  luither 

Hesolved,  Tbat  it  is  the  spirit  and  sense  of  this 
convention  that  all  representatives  of  the  Ameri- 
can per. pie  in  Notional,  stt-.te  or  rwuniclpal  legls  a- 
tive  bodies  sfcould  concur  In  the  enactment  of 
such  laws  as  will  Insure  as  far  as  po.  sible  an  lion>-  ; 
handling  of  our  cereals,  the- ebi  reducing  the  o. 


536 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  NATIONAL  FARMERS'  ALLIANCE. 


of  marketing  the  same  to  a  legitimate  minimum; 
»nd  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  each  and  every  'ndlTidual  pait  of 
this  convention  be  requested  to  urge  upon  their  na- 
tional and  state  legislators  the  importance  of  svs- 
trJning  and  enforcing,  not  ordy  the  present  inter- 
state commerce  lu w,  but  sueSi  Emendments  as  may 
bo  made  to  it  that  wili  persecute  none  and  subserve 
the  best  Interests  of  all  concerned:  and  be  It 
farther 

Resolved,  That  In  the  sense  of  this  convention,  the 
fallowing  feature  i  could  be  advantageously  Incor- 
porated into  the  existing  lnter-state  law  as  an 
amendment: 

First,  Require  clean  bill  of  lading  upon  all  inter- 
»l.ate  grain  shipments. 

Second,  E  squire  railroad  and  other  transportation 
l\aea  to  deliver  all  gi  am  they  receipt  for  and  con- 
U'«v.;t  to  deilv.er  to  a  given  destinati  n. 

Third,  Provide  for  a  periodical  examination  of 
all  public  grain  warehouses  that  receive  grain  for 
Miiige  or  transfer  by  disinterested  bonded  officials 
to  be  appointed  by  competent  authority  after  the 
esxne  manner  as  national  banks  are  examined  for 
the  purpose  of  rucking  them  properly  accountable 
B8  custodians  of  private  property.  This  examina- 
tion to  limit,  regulate  and  determine  ths  amount  of 
Overplus  that  shoi:M  accumulate  In  such  public 
warehouses,  uad  which  is  now  sold  for  the  benefit 
of  tho  rraDagers  and  to  the  detriment  of  its  deposi- 
tors or  legitimate  owners. 

Fourth,  Prohib  t  any  warehouse  man  that  re- 
ceives grain  on  storage  or  lor  transfer  from  dealing 
Got  grain  dlrectli  or  indirectly,  and  require  that  a 
record  be  kept  of  all  fcr=iin  received  into  and  de- 
livered from  said  warehouses  and  the  records  shall 
be  »o  k'pt  aa  to  show  t  .e  exact  amount  of  each 
kind  and  grade  of  grain  received  or  shipped,  from 
whom,  where  to  and  to  whom  delivered.  In  addition 
to  which  ra.wingh  shall  be  m,\de  sbowing  interior 
construction  of  houso,  looatlon  c f  scales,  sinks, 
Spouts,  bins,  their  sizes  and  capacity,  which,  with 
toe  records,  plans  and  everything  pertainli!g 
tliereto,  shall  be  at  all  times  open  for  the  inspec- 
tion i  f  any  duly  authorised  persons. 

Fifth,  Impose  heavy  pen  iluee  for  any  vioiatlon 
erf  this  lw,  which  shr<ll  be  prosecuted  by  the  inter- 
Btate  conf.in  ssioners  or  any  United  States  district 
attorney  upon  information  filed  by  any  reputable 
qittaen,  one-half  of  a:  Id  penalty  to  go  to  the  in- 
fesrmers.  Respectful  y  submit' ed, 

h  DWAKD  S.  RICHARD. 

Chicago,  January  25th,  1891. 

A  communication  was  read  from  South 
Dakota  stating  that  they  did  not  approve 
of  the  South  Dakota  Alliance  joining  the 
Industrial  Union  and  asking  the  National 
Alliance  to  charter  Alliances  in  Dakota 
with  a  view  of  organizing  a  State  Alliance 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  National 
Alliance,  and  the  following  resolution 
wa3  adopted: 

IRegolAied,  That  in  <--onnrctl«n  with  the  communi- 
cation from  South  Dakota  we  Instruct  the  secretary 
at  this  body  to  g  ve  any  relief  t'>  said  local  Alll- 
anoes  that  the  constitution  of  this  Alliance  permits 
tsiti.  thr.t  eteps  be  taken  to  organize  these  Alliances 
asder  our  order. 

A  communication  from  Hon.  W.  I. 
Buchanan,  Chief  Gf  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  of  the  World's  Columbian 


Exposition,  requesting  the  appointment 
of  a  committee  in  each  state  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  National  Farmers' 
Alliance  to  co-operate  with  that  depart- 
ment, was  read,  and  on  motion  the  Presi- 
dent was  instructed  to  appoint  such  a 
committee.  The  President  appointed  the 
following  persons  as  said  committee: 
August  Post,  Moulton,  Iowa;  S.  P.  Groat, 
Argyle,  Nebraska;  Chas.  Morgan,  Horn- 
by, Pennsylvania;  J.  C.  H.  Cobb,  Wells- 
ton,  Ohio;  W.  A.  Kelsey,  Dunfee,  In- 
diana; A.  C.  Eaidwin,  Vermillionville, 
Illinois;  C.  M.  Butt,  Viroqua,  Wisconsin. 
G.  W.  Haigh,  Mankato,  Minnesota;  G. 
D.  Fullerton,  Skidmore,  Missouri;  D.  F. 
Ravens,  St.  John,  Washington;  Thomas 
Sphinx,  Wheelock,  Pennsylvania. 

The  Secretary  was,  on  motion,  allowed 
three  hundred  dollars  as  salary  for  the 
past  year. 

The  following  from  the  Joint  Confer- 
ence Committee  was  then  presented  and 
on  motion  adopted: 

Wersreas,  The  National  Farmers'  Alliance  and 
the  Farmers'  Mutual  Benefit  Association  are  kin- 
dred societies,  that  their  interests  are  large  y  the 
same,  and  that  they  are  laboring  for  the  same  great 
purpose — the  emancipation  of  agriculture  from  the 
thraldom  of  class  legislation. 

Resolved,  That  we  ere  In  favor  of  co-operating 
with  each  other  to  the  fullest  possible  extent  com- 
patible with  the  interests  of  our  fep'irate  organiza- 
tions, that  we  will  assist  each  other  in  tfce  great 
work  of  building  up  and  educating  the  masses,  that 
we  will  support  each  other's  measures  as  far  as 
Is  consistent  with  our  respective  forms  of  organiza- 
tion, and  that  we  will  ehare  with  each  other  what- 
ever benefits  of  co- operation  in  trade  we  may  attain, 
and  at  our  various  meetings  we  will  cheerfully  wel- 
come fraternal  delegates. 

C.  3.  Bradley,  Oh'm.,    w.  T.  Ptilwell, 
J,  H.  Mason,  Seo'y,         Joseph  Jennings, 

A.  R.  WRIGHT,  THOS.  W.  HAYNES, 

A.  H.  BRUNSON,  F  J.CLAYPOOL, 

D.  F.  Ravens.  John  p.  Steele, 
Committee  for  N.  F.  A.      Committee  F.  M.  B  A. 

Report  of  "Unit  Committee"  was  then 
received  and  on  motion  adopted.  (This 
report  is  printed  in  separate  pamphlet 
and  will  be  sent  free  to  all  applicants.) 

The    following    vote    of    thanks    was 

unanimously  adopted: 

Resolved,  That  the  National  Farmers'  Alliance 
tender  to  the  board  of  trade  of  the  city  of  Orn'ha 
their  sim-ere  thanks  for  the  courtesy  extended  to 
them  in  granting  the  free  use  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  in  which  to  hold  the  meetings  of  the 
eleventh  annual  convention  of  the  said  Alliance. 

Convention  adjourned. 

August  Post,  Secretary. 


111  Temporarily  Unemployed? 


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"A  JOLLY  TRIP" 


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